NFL Draft
What does NFL Draft Mean?
An off-season event in which NFL teams, in reverse order of the number of wins from the previous season, choose eligible players from college football to fill their rosters. Teams can choose any player who has expired his eligibility with his college team, or any player who fills out the necessary paperwork to enter the draft early.
List of first overall draft picks
| Year | Player | Position | College | NFL Team |
| 1936 | Jay Berwanger | Halfback | Chicago | Philadelphia Eagles |
| 1937 | Sam Francis | Fullback | Nebraska | Philadelphia Eagles |
| 1938 | Corbett Davis | Fullback | Indiana | Cleveland Rams |
| 1939 | Ki Aldrich | Center | TCU | Chicago Cardinals |
| 1940 | George Cafego | Halfback | Tennessee | Chicago Cardinals |
| 1941 | Tom Harmon | Halfback | Michigan | Chicago Bears |
| 1942 | Bill Dudley | Halfback | Virginia | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| 1943 | Frank Sinkwich | Halfback | Georgia | Detroit Lions |
| 1944 | Angelo Bertelli | Quarterback | Notre Dame | Boston Yanks |
| 1945 | Charley Trippi | Halfback | Georgia | Chicago Cardinals |
| 1946 | Frank Dancewicz | Quarterback | Notre Dame | Boston Yanks |
| 1947 | Bob Fenimore | Halfback | Oklahoma A&M | Chicago Bears |
| 1948 | Harry Gilmer | Quarterback | Alabama | Washington Redskins |
| 1949 | Chuck Bednarik | Center/Linebacker | Penn | Philadelphia Eagles |
| 1950 | Leon Hart | End | Notre Dame | Detroit Lions |
| 1951 | Kyle Rote | Halfback | SMU | New York Giants |
| 1952 | Bill Wade | Quarterback | Vanderbilt | Los Angeles Rams |
| 1953 | Harry Babcock | End | Georgia | San Francisco 49ers |
| 1954 | Bobby Garrett | Quarterback | Stanford | Cleveland Browns |
| 1955 | George Shaw | Quarterback | Oregon | Baltimore Colts |
| 1956 | Gary Glick | Defensive back | Colorado A&M | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| 1957 | Paul Hornung | Halfback | Notre Dame | Green Bay Packers |
| 1958 | King Hill | Quarterback | Rice | Chicago Cardinals |
| 1959 | Randy Duncan | Quarterback | Iowa | Green Bay Packers |
| 1960 | Billy Cannon | Running back | LSU | Los Angeles Rams |
| 1961 | Tommy Mason | Running back | Tulane | Minnesota Vikings |
| 1962 | Ernie Davis | Running back | Syracuse | Washington Redskin |
| 1963 | Terry Baker | Quarterback | Oregon State | Los Angeles Rams |
| 1964 | Dave Parks | Wide Receiver | Texas Tech | San Francisco 49ers |
| 1965 | Tucker Frederickson | Running back | Auburn | New York Giants |
| 1966 | Tommy Nobis | Linebacker | Texas | Atlanta Falcons |
| 1967 | Bubba Smith | Defensive end | Michigan State | Baltimore Colts |
| 1968 | Ron Yary | Offensive tackle | USC | Minnesota Vikings |
| 1969 | O. J. Simpson | Running back | USC | Buffalo Bills (AFL) |
| 1970 | Terry Bradshaw | Quarterback | Louisiana Tech | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| 1971 | Jim Plunkett | Quarterback | Stanford | New England Patriots |
| 1972 | Walt Patulski | Defensive end | Notre Dame | Buffalo Bills |
| 1973 | John Matuszak | Defensive end | Tampa | Houston Oilers |
| 1974 | Ed Jones | Defensive end | Tennessee State | Dallas Cowboys |
| 1975 | Steve Bartkowski | Quarterback | California | Atlanta Falcons |
| 1976 | Lee Roy Selmon | Defensive end | Oklahoma | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| 1977 | Ricky Bell | Running back | USC | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| 1978 | Earl Campbell | Running back | Texas | Houston Oilers |
| 1979 | Tom Cousineau | Linebacker | Ohio State | Buffalo Bills |
| 1980 | Billy Sims | Running back | Oklahoma | Detroit Lions |
| 1981 | George Rogers | Running back | South Carolina | New Orleans Saints |
| 1982 | Kenneth Sims | Defensive end | Texas | New England Patriots |
| 1983 | John Elway | Quarterback | Stanford | Baltimore Colts |
| 1984 | Irving Fryar | Wide receiver | Nebraska | New England Patriots |
| 1985 | Bruce Smith | Defensive end | Virginia Tech | Buffalo Bills |
| 1986 | Bo Jackson | Running back | Auburn | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| 1987 | Vinny Testaverde | Quarterback | Miami (FL) | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| 1988 | Aundray Bruce | Linebacker | Auburn | Atlanta Falcons |
| 1989 | Troy Aikman | Quarterback | UCLA | Dallas Cowboys |
| 1990 | Jeff George | Quarterback | Illinois | Indianapolis Colts |
| 1991 | Russell Maryland | Defensive tackle | Miami (FL) | Dallas Cowboys |
| 1992 | Steve Emtman | Defensive tackle | Washington | Indianapolis Colts |
| 1993 | Drew Bledsoe | Quarterback | Washington State | New England Patriots |
| 1994 | Dan Wilkinson | Defensive tackle | Ohio State | Cincinnati Bengals |
| 1995 | Ki-Jana Carter | Running back | Penn State | Cincinnati Bengals |
| 1996 | Keyshawn Johnson | Wide receiver | USC | New York Jets |
| 1997 | Orlando Pace | Offensive tackle | Ohio State | St. Louis Rams |
| 1998 | Peyton Manning | Quarterback | Tennessee | Indianapolis Colts |
| 1999 | Tim Couch | Quarterback | Kentucky | Cleveland Browns |
| 2000 | Courtney Brown | Defensive end | Penn State | Cleveland Browns |
| 2001 | Michael Vick | Quarterback | Virginia Tech | Atlanta Falcons |
| 2002 | David Carr | Quarterback | Fresno State | Houston Texans |
| 2003 | Carson Palmer | Quarterback | USC | Cincinnati Bengals |
| 2004 | Eli Manning | Quarterback | Ole Miss | San Diego Chargers |
| 2005 | Alex Smith | Quarterback | Utah | San Francisco 49ers |
| 2006 | Mario Williams | Defensive end | North Carolina State | Houston Texans |
| 2007 | JaMarcus Russell | Quarterback | LSU | Oakland Raiders |
| 2008 | Jake Long | Offensive Tackle | Michigan | Miami Dolphins |
| 2009 | Matthew Stafford | Quarterback | Georgia | Detroit Lions |
| 2010 | Sam Bradford | Quarterback | Oklahoma | St. Louis Rams |
| 2011 | Cam Newton | Quarterback | Auburn | Carolina Panthers |
| 2012 | Andrew Luck | Quarterback | Stanford | Indianapolis Colts |
Sporting Charts explains NFL Draft
The NFL Draft is the primary way teams find new players to add to their team. Beginning with the team that had the worst record during the previous season, teams will choose from the year's eligible college players. The NFL Draft has seven rounds, although the number of picks that each team has depends on a number of factors, including trading picks and compensatory selections based on free agent movement. Picks in the first round of the draft are expected to be major contributors to their teams in the long run, while later rounds are used to look for potential sleepers and make selections to add depth to team rosters.
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