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    • (USA Today Sports Images)

      Honolulu scheduled a big parade Saturday afternoon as a celebration for native son Manti Te'o on the weekend he was drafted into the NFL. The city gave a $2,000 grant for the event, according to Hawaii News Now, and the story said the remaining cost was picked up mainly by residents of Laie and Kahuku.

      Tents were set up, food was cooked, but nobody stopped to think about the guest of honor's availability. Oops.

      When a player is drafted in the NFL, the team flies him out the next day to meet the coaches, tour the facilities and have a press conference. This happens for practically every high draft pick. Nobody planning the parade in Hawaii could be expected to know that, but it must have been quite the scene when the organizers figured out that Te'o had to be in San Diego when his parade was scheduled. The Chargers selected Te'o, the decorated Notre Dame linebacker, on Friday in the second round of the NFL draft.

      The parade went on as planned, Hawaii News Now said.

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    • With the 254th and final pick of the 2013 NFL draft, the Indianapolis Colts selected South Carolina tight end Justice Cunningham, this year's Mr. Irrelevant. It's the second straight year in which the Colts got the final pick of the draft -- in 2012, they took Northern Illinois quarterback Chandler Harnish. Cunningham was a somewhat productive target in the last two seasons, finishing his four-year stint with 50 catches for 581 yards and a touchdown.

      He majored in sport and entertainment management, and has three siblings: a brother named Power, and sisters named Promise and Sincere.

      In 2012, Cunningham caught 23 of those passes for 324 yards. But he's more of a blocker, and with Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen already in the game plan, one wonders where Cunningham might fit. Then again, new Colts offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton ran a few three-TE sets at Stanford, so you never know.

      For his role as Mr. Irrelevant, Cunningham will be the star of "Irrelevant Week XXXVIII," which is a thing that actually happens. From the official event site:

      Founded by Paul Salata in 1976, Irrelevant Week is a 38-year-old philanthropic tradition within the Newport Beach community that commemorates the final National Footbal League draft pick each season while simultaneously raising money for charitable organizations. During the summer following the draft, Mr. Irrelevant and his family are invited to participate in a host of events throughout Orange County.

      This year, Irrelevant Week XXXVIII is proud to support Special Olympics Southern California.

      So, it's a fun event for a good cause. Fortunately, the players seem to have a sense of humor about it, and get into the feel of things. Harnish actually tweeted a succession welcome to the newest member of the club:

      Believe it or not, some of these Misters Irrelevant have made tracks in the NFL.

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    • Buccaneers, Patriots strike deal for unwanted running backs

      By Brian McIntyre | Shutdown Corner – Sat, 27 Apr, 2013 4:38 PM EDT

      LeGarrette Blount was traded to the Patriots (USA Today Sports Images)

      The New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers have once again worked out a trade, this time agreeing to a trade involving an unwanted running back, an Olympic silver medalist and a seventh-round draft pick.

      According to Tom Curran of Comcast SportsNet New England, the Patriots have acquired LeGarrette Blount in exchange for Jeff Demps and the 229th overall pick in the 2013 NFL draft.

      New England and Tampa Bay hooked up last year's trade deadline, with the Patriots acquiring cornerback Aqib Talib in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2013 NFL draft. The Buccaneers used that pick to select Michigan State defensive end William Gholston. The Patriots also received a seventh-round pick back from the Buccaneers in the Talib deal, which is the 226th overall selection.

      Blount entered the NFL with the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent out of Oregon in 2010. Claimed off waivers by the Buccaneers, the 6-foot, 245-pound Blount ran for 1,007 yards and six touchdowns as a rookie, despite starting just seven of 13 games. Blount ran for 781 yards and five touchdowns as a 14-game starter in 2011, but lost his starting job to 2012 first-round pick Doug Martin and had just 41 carries for 151 yards and two touchdowns in very limited action, logging just 92 snaps over the entire season, according to official playing-time documents.

      Blount was scheduled to be a restricted free agent this offseason, but agreed to a one-year, $1.75 million contract with the Buccaneers on March 7. Blount's deal contained no guaranteed money, but the running back can earn a $150,000 workout bonus and another $350,000 bonus by reporting to training camp. If Blount makes the Patriots' 53-man roster, which is far from being a lock, he is scheduled to earn $1.25 million in non-guaranteed base salary.

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    • (USA Today Sports Images)The Green Bay Packers are a passing team, and a very successful one. They have won 36 regular season games, two division titles and a Super Bowl the last three years with almost nothing out of the running game.

      The NFL is a passing league, and only the Saints might epitomize that more than the Packers. Green Bay hasn't had a 100-yard rusher since Week 5 of the 2010 season, and is still winning at about a 75 percent clip during the last three seasons.

      All of that makes Green Bay's selection of running backs Eddie Lacy in the second round and Johnathan Franklin in the fourth round very interesting.

      It's hard to imagine the Packers want to be a totally balanced offense, considering they just gave quarterback Aaron Rodgers a $110 million extension to make him the highest paid player in NFL history. Green Bay's identity is tied into Rodgers throwing the ball, and they'd be crazy to change that formula too much.

      The Packers' thought has to be that in the best-case scenario, they stick to the same approximate 57-43 pass-run ratio they've had the last three years, but they're much better in that 43 percent with Lacy and Franklin rather than guys like James Starks and DuJuan Harris wasting plays. And as a result, a more effective running game makes Rodgers even better.

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    • (Getty Images)

      The process by which former Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson has endeavored to become future NFL receiver and special teamer Denard Robinson took a big step forward on the third day of the NFL draft. With the second pick in the fifth round (135th overall), the Jacksonville Jaguars took Robinson, and will work him in as a moveable chess piece. The Jags also took ultra-fast South Carolina receiver Ace Sanders in the fourth round, so they're clearly looking to diversify the ways in which they attack enemy defenses.

      Robinson completed 427 passes in 747 attempts over four years for the Wolverines for 6,250 yards, 49 touchdowns, and 39 interceptions. But it was really as a runner that he made his bones in the NCAA. He ran 723 times for 4,495 yards (a 6.2 average), and 42 touchdowns. One wonders if the Jags have some read-option packages in mind -- most certainly, Blaine Gabbert hasn't established that he deserves to be the team's pre-emptive starter at the quarterback position, and we've seen many NFL teams expand what they do in the backfield option game.

      At the Senior Bowl, Robinson was still recovering from a hand injury, and he looked raw in receiver and return drills, to say the least.

      Through the North team practices, Robinson has struggled mightily with the most basic elements of his new proposed position. Recruited as a potential cornerback or receiver by several colleges out of Deerfield Beach High School in Florida, Robinson instead went to Michigan to run Rich Rodriguez's spread offense as a running quarterback and eventually excelled under Brady Hoke as head coach and Al Borges as offensive coordinator. That's what he did before, and the results were spectacular at times. But this week in Mobile, Robinson has also proved when so many receivers new to the NFL have told me through the years -- once to hit NFL-level talent, it's about much, much more than the ability to run fast.

      At the scouting combine less than a month later, however, Robinson caught the ball far more consistently, and showed that there's something behind his embryonic efforts to change positions.

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