Mr. Irrelevant: Jets select Alabama DB Jaylen Key at No. 257 overall to end 2024 NFL Draft

The 2024 Mr. Irrelevant comes from a program with plenty of relevance.

The New York Jets selected Alabama safety Jaylen Key with the final pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, No. 257.

Key spent just one season at Alabama, a school he transferred to after playing four years at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He arrived with zero guarantees, but worked his way into a starting role, taking the field with the top 11 in 12 of Alabama’s 14 games in 2023 and recording 60 tackles, one interception and one pass break-up.

Key’s path to the NFL was paved by the courage needed to jump to the bigger school in the state of Alabama, but it’s only fitting it included a program that needed reviving. Key earned recognition as an honorable mention choice for the All-Conference USA team in 2022 after tying for the team lead with three interceptions in his final season at UAB, a school that had terminated operations from 2015-2016 before returning in 2017. With one year of eligibility left, Key took a leap of faith by transferring to Alabama, and is now reaping the rewards of being drafted.

Key’s selection wrapped up the draft and will send him to Florham Park, New Jersey, where he’ll attempt to earn a roster spot in a group of safeties that includes veteran Chuck Clark, third-year safety Tony Adams, and Ashtyn Davis. Key is one of two defensive backs selected by the Jets, joining fellow rookie and Canadian Football League product Qwan’Tez Stiggers, drafted in the fifth round.

Key will join a Jets defense that has served as the team’s identity in recent years under head coach Robert Saleh. We’ll see if his one year of experience at Alabama helps him adjust to the pro game well enough to make the final 53.