Meet Red Murdock, ‘Mr. Irrelevant' of the 2026 NFL Draft

ESPN compiled a list of every “Mr. Irrelevant” since 1976, an unfortunate and somewhat sad nickname given to the final player selected in the NFL draft.

Fans have likely never heard of anyone on the list, except for San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy.

The 49ers selected Purdy at No. 262 overall out of Iowa State in the 2022 NFL Draft. Injuries to Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo thrust Purdy into the QB1 role, and he led the 49ers to the NFC Championship Game as a rookie. In his first full year as a starter in 2023, he and the 49ers lost Super Bowl LVIII to Kansas City in overtime.

The Denver Broncos had the distinct honor of creating the next “Mr. Irrelevant,” and the Broncos selected linebacker Red Murdock out of the University of Buffalo with the 257th overall pick to close the 2026 NFL Draft on Saturday.

Murdock has a shot at latching on in Broncos Country, despite his draft position.

According to his official Buffalo Bulls player bio, Red Murdock’s birth name is Khalil Murdock. His 17 career forced fumbles (17) from 2022 to 2025 are the most all-time fumbles in Division I NCAA football. Ironically, fellow Buffalo Bulls alum and current Los Angeles Chargers All-Pro linebacker Khalil Mack previously held that record with 16 career forced fumbles from 2010 to 2013.

Last season, Murdock led the Mid-American Conference (MAC) with 89 tackle assists and six forced fumbles in 12 games for the 5-7 Bulls. His 142 total tackles ranked second in the nation, and he also tallied 13.5 tackles for loss and five sacks. Murdock was named to the All-MAC First Team the past two seasons.

At the 2026 NFL Combine in late February, Murdock shared the meaning behind his nickname, Red.

“When I was born, I had red hair,” he told reporters. “Light-skin baby with freckles, so it just stuck.”

Murdock also explained why he stayed at Buffalo for all four of his collegiate seasons, even though he had offers to transfer to more prominent programs.

“I’m very big on watering your grass,” he said. “I’m not moved by any type of materialistic thing. I wanna look back 20 years and be proud of what I left at Buffalo, and I know that I did all I could to do so. That’s something I can go to sleep at night and have peace with, rather than chasing any external validation.”

The Athletic’s Dane Brugler evaluated Murdock as part of his annual “The Beast” draft guide and noted, “He is a magnet to the football and plays with a physicality that will get the job done in the NFL. There is a place in this league for his competitive toughness and playmaking ability.”

Murdock couldn’t have dreamt of a better place to develop as a linebacker than landing in the same room as Alex Singleton, Nik Bonitto, and Justin Strnad in Denver.

Should his NFL aspirations not work out, however, Murdock will be fine. He graduated magna cum laude with a degree in psychology in May 2024, and he’s the founder and director of Virginia Homework Helpers, a free tutoring program for K-12 students.

Watch Red Murdock highlights below.

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This story was originally published April 25, 2026 at 6:27 PM.