75th annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible players
The 2010 NFL Draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The 2010 draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, with the first round on April 22, 2010. The second and third rounds took place on April 23, while the final four rounds were held on April 24.[1][2] Television coverage was provided by both NFL Network and ESPN.
The St. Louis Rams, as the team with the worst record during the 2009 season, selected quarterback Sam Bradford with the first pick. Three of the top four picks were members of the Oklahoma Sooners football team, and five of the top six were from the Big 12 Conference. The prime time broadcast of the first round was watched by 7.29 million viewers making it the most viewed first round ever and making ESPN the second most watched network of the night.[3][4]
Overview
Of the 255 players drafted 216 (or 84%) were among the 327 players who participated in the 2010 NFL Scouting Combine. This matches the average percentage of combine participants among draftees over the past ten years. An additional 39 players who did not attend the combine were selected.[5][6]
There was wide speculation that the 2010 NFL Draft would have a very large number of early entrants because of a possible rookie pay scale to be imposed starting with the 2011 NFL Draft.[7][8][9][10] Eligible underclassmen projected as top NFL prospects risked losing millions of contractually-guaranteed dollars if they did not declare for the draft the year before a new CBA could be reached. The early entry deadline was January 15. After the early entry deadline had passed, it was confirmed that the 2010 NFL Draft would have fifty-three non-seniors, tying a draft record for the most non-seniors ever.[11]
The draft's first round, in which teams were allowed ten minutes to make each selection, consumed three hours and 28 minutes. The second round (with a maximum of seven minutes per selection) lasted two hours and 25 minutes. After the second round, teams were allotted five minutes per pick. The third round took one hour and 41 minutes. Rounds 4 through 7 each lasted less than two hours.[12] For the second time in draft history, the first two players selected were named Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Year, respectively.[13]
The following is the breakdown of the 255 players selected by position:
Changes in draft order
At the 2009 annual owners meeting, NFL owners unanimously approved changes to the order for assigning draft picks, starting with the 2010 draft.[14]
The new format took into account the seeding of playoff teams. The two major changes from previous years were:
- Teams that make the playoffs pick after teams that do not.
- Teams that advance further in the playoffs pick later. In 2008, the Chargers, who went 8–8 in the regular season, defeated the 12–4 Indianapolis Colts in an AFC wild card game. Nevertheless, the Chargers received the 16th pick while the Colts picked 27th, and the Patriots, who missed the playoffs, picked 23rd according to the rules then in effect, which prioritized regular season record for all teams except those in the Super Bowl.
The new order assigns picks for each round as indicated in the table below. Except the changes noted above, the order will generally follow that used in previous years (i.e., within a given status, teams with worse regular-season records will pick earlier in the first round, and picks will cycle from round to round among teams that are tied).
Three coin tosses were necessary to establish the final selection order: Jacksonville, Tennessee, and Atlanta won their flips over Denver, Carolina, and Houston, respectively.[15]
Status
|
Draft picks
|
Non-playoff teams
|
1–20
|
Eliminated in Wild Card round
|
21–24
|
Eliminated in Divisional round
|
25–28
|
Eliminated in Conference Championships
|
29–30
|
Super Bowl losing team
|
31
|
Super Bowl champion
|
32
|
Trades
In the explanations below, (D) denotes trades that took place during the draft, while (PD) indicates trades completed pre-draft.
Round one
- ^ #11: multiple trades:
- #11: Chicago → Denver (PD). Chicago traded this selection, a 2009 first-round selection (18th overall; Denver selected Robert Ayers) and a 2009 third-round selection (84th overall; traded to Pittsburgh, who selected Mike Wallace), and quarterback Kyle Orton to Denver for quarterback Jay Cutler and a 2009 fifth-round selection (140th overall, Chicago selected Johnny Knox).[source 1]
- #11: Denver → San Francisco (D). Denver traded this selection it acquired from Chicago to San Francisco for a first-round selection (13th overall; traded to Philadelphia, who selected Brandon Graham) and a fourth-round selection (113th overall; traded to New England, who selected Aaron Hernandez).[source 2]
- ^ #12: Miami → San Diego (D). Miami traded this selection, a fourth-round selection (110th overall; San Diego selected Darrell Stuckey), and a sixth-round selection it acquired from Kansas City (173rd overall; traded to San Francisco who selected Anthony Dixon) to San Diego for a first-round selection (28th overall; Miami selected Jared Odrick), a second-round selection it acquired from Seattle (40th overall; Miami selected Koa Misi), a fourth-round selection (126th overall; traded to Dallas who selected Akwasi Owusu-Ansah), and linebacker Tim Dobbins.[source 3]
- ^ #13: multiple trades:
- #13: San Francisco → Denver (D). See #11: Denver → San Francisco above.
- #13: Denver → Philadelphia (D). Denver traded this selection it acquired from San Francisco to Philadelphia for a first-round selection (24th overall; after all trades, Dallas selected Dez Bryant), a third-round selection it acquired from Seattle (70th overall; traded to Baltimore, who selected Ed Dickson), and a third-round selection (87th overall; Denver selected Eric Decker).[source 4]
- ^ #14: Denver → Seattle (PD). Denver traded this selection to Seattle for a 2009 second-round selection (37th overall; Denver selected Alphonso Smith).[source 5]
- ^ #17: Carolina → San Francisco (PD). Carolina traded this selection to San Francisco for 2009 second- (43rd overall; Carolina selected Everette Brown) and fourth-round selections (111th overall; Carolina selected Mike Goodson).[source 6]
- ^ #22: New England → Denver (D). New England traded this selection to Denver for a first-round selection (24th overall; traded to Dallas, who selected Dez Bryant) and a fourth-round selection it acquired from San Francisco (113th overall; New England selected Aaron Hernandez).[source 7]
- ^ #24: multiple trades:
- #24: Philadelphia → Denver (D). See #13: Denver → Philadelphia above.
- #24: Denver → New England (D). See #22: New England → Denver above.
- #24: New England → Dallas (D). New England traded this selection it acquired from Denver and its fourth-round selection (119th overall; traded to Miami who selected A. J. Edds) to Dallas for a first-round selection (27th overall; New England selected Devin McCourty) and a third-round selection (90th overall; New England selected Taylor Price).[source 8]
- ^ #25: Baltimore → Denver (D). Baltimore traded this selection to Denver for a second-round selection it acquired from Miami (43rd overall; Baltimore selected Sergio Kindle), a third-round selection it acquired from Philadelphia (70th overall; Baltimore selected Ed Dickson), and a fourth-round selection (114th overall; Baltimore selected Dennis Pitta).[source 9]
- ^ #27: Dallas → New England (D). See #24: New England → Dallas above.
- ^ #28: Miami → San Diego (D). See #12: Miami → San Diego above.
- ^ #30: Minnesota → Detroit (D). Minnesota traded this selection and a fourth-round selection (128th overall; Detroit selected Jason Curtis Fox) to Detroit for a second-round selection (34th overall; Minnesota selected Chris Cook), a fourth-round selection (100th overall; Minnesota selected Everson Griffen), and a seventh-round selection it acquired from Cleveland (214th overall; Minnesota selected Mickey Shuler Jr.).[source 10]
Round two
- ^ #34: Detroit → Minnesota (D). See #30: Minnesota → Detroit above.
- ^ #37: Washington → Philadelphia (PD). Washington traded this selection and a 2011 fourth-round selection to Philadelphia for quarterback Donovan McNabb.[source 11]
- ^ #39: Oakland → Tampa Bay (D). Oakland traded this selection to Tampa Bay for a second-round selection it acquired from Chicago (42nd overall; traded to New England, who selected Rob Gronkowski) and a fifth-round selection it acquired from New England (153rd overall; traded to Jacksonville, who selected Austen Lane).[source 12]
- ^ #40: multiple trades:
- #40: Seattle → San Diego (PD). Seattle traded this selection and a 2011 third-round selection to San Diego for quarterback Charlie Whitehurst and the Chargers' 2010 second-round selection (60th overall; Seattle selected Golden Tate).[source 13]
- #40: San Diego → Miami (D). See #12: Miami → San Diego above.
- ^ #42: multiple trades:
- #42: Chicago → Tampa Bay (PD). Chicago traded this selection to Tampa Bay for defensive end Gaines Adams.[source 14]
- #42: Tampa Bay → Oakland (D). See #39: Oakland → Tampa Bay above.
- #42: Oakland → New England (D). Oakland traded this selection it acquired from Tampa Bay to New England for a second-round selection New England had acquired from Jacksonville (44th overall; Oakland selected Lamarr Houston) and New England's sixth-round selection (190th overall; Oakland selected Travis Goethel).[source 15]
- ^ #43: multiple trades:
- #43: Miami → Denver (PD). Miami traded this selection and a 2011 second-round selection to Denver for wide receiver Brandon Marshall.[source 16]
- #43: Denver → Baltimore (D). See #25: Baltimore → Denver above.
- ^ #44: multiple trades:
- #44: Jacksonville → New England (PD). Jacksonville traded this selection and a 2009 seventh-round selection (232nd overall; New England selected Julian Edelman) to New England for a 2009 third-round selection (73rd overall; Jacksonville selected Derek Cox).[source 17]
- #44: New England → Oakland (D). See #42: Oakland → New England above.
- ^ #47: multiple trades:
- #47: Tennessee → New England (PD). Tennessee traded this selection to New England for a 2009 third-round selection (89th overall; Tennessee selected Jared Cook).[source 18]
- #47: New England → Arizona (D). New England traded this selection it acquired from Tennessee to Arizona for a second-round selection (58th overall; traded to Houston, who selected Ben Tate) and a third-round selection (89th overall; traded to Carolina, who selected Armanti Edwards).[source 19]
- ^ #50: Atlanta → Kansas City (PD). Atlanta traded this selection to Kansas City for tight end Tony Gonzalez.[source 20]
- ^ #51: Houston → Minnesota (D). Houston traded this selection to Minnesota for a second-round selection (62nd overall; traded to New England, who selected Brandon Spikes) and a third-round selection (93rd overall; traded to Kansas City, who selected Tony Moeaki).[source 21]
- ^ #55: Philadelphia → Dallas (D). Philadelphia traded this selection to Dallas for a second-round selection (59th overall; traded to Cleveland, who selected Montario Hardesty) and fourth-round selection (125th overall; Philadelphia selected Clay Harbor).[source 22]
- ^ #58: multiple trades:
- #58: Arizona → New England (D). See #47: New England → Arizona above.
- #58: New England → Houston (D). New England traded this selection it acquired from Arizona to Houston for a second-round selection (62nd overall; New England selected Brandon Spikes) and a fifth-round selection (150th overall; New England selected Zoltan Mesko).[source 23]
- ^ #59: multiple trades:
- #59: Dallas → Philadelphia (D). See #59: Dallas → Philadelphia above.
- #59: Philadelphia → Cleveland (D). Philadelphia traded this selection it acquired from Dallas to Cleveland for a third-round selection (71st overall; traded to Green Bay, who selected Morgan Burnett), a fifth-round selection it acquired from Tampa Bay (134th overall; Philadelphia selected Ricky Sapp), and a fifth-round selection it acquired from Detroit (146th overall; traded to San Diego, who selected Cam Thomas).[source 24]
- ^ #60: San Diego → Seattle (PD). See #40: Seattle → San Diego above.
- ^ #62: multiple trades:
- #62: Minnesota → Houston (D). See #51: Houston → Minnesota above.
- #62: Houston → New England (D). See #58: New England → Houston above.
Round three
Round four
Round five
- ^ #133: Detroit → Seattle (PD). Detroit traded this selection and defensive end Robert Henderson to Seattle for guard Rob Sims and a seventh-round selection (213th overall; Detroit selected Willie Young).[source 44]
- ^ #134: multiple trades:
- #134: Tampa Bay → Cleveland (PD). Tampa Bay traded this selection and a 2009 second-round selection (50th overall; Cleveland selected Mohamed Massaquoi) to Cleveland for tight end Kellen Winslow II.[source 45]
- #134: Cleveland → Philadelphia (D). See #59: Philadelphia → Cleveland above.
- ^ #135: multiple trades:
- #135: Washington → St. Louis (PD). Washington traded this selection and a seventh-round selection (211th overall; St. Louis selected Marquis Johnson) to St. Louis for defensive lineman Adam Carriker, a fifth-round selection acquired from Philadelphia (163rd overall; traded to Miami, who selected Reshad Jones), and a seventh-round selection (208th overall; traded to New England, who selected Thomas Welch).[source 46]
- #135: St. Louis → Atlanta (D). St. Louis traded this selection it acquired from Washington to Atlanta for a fifth-round selection (149th overall; St. Louis drafted Hall Davis) and a sixth-round selection (189th overall; St. Louis selected Eugene Sims).[source 47]
- ^ #137: multiple trades:
- #137: Cleveland → Philadelphia (PD). See #105: Cleveland → Philadelphia above.
- #137: Philadelphia → Denver (PD). Philadelphia traded this selection it acquired from Cleveland to Denver in a three-way trade; Philadelphia acquired linebacker Ernie Sims from Detroit, while Detroit acquired tight end Tony Scheffler and a seventh-round selection (220th overall; traded to Philadelphia, who selected Jamar Chaney) from Denver.[source 48]
- ^ #139: Seattle → New York Jets (D). Seattle traded this selection to the New York Jets for running back Leon Washington and a seventh-round selection (236th overall; Seattle selected Dexter Davis).[source 49]
- ^ #142: Miami → Kansas City (PD). Miami traded this selection to Kansas City for quarterback Tyler Thigpen.[source 50]
- ^ #144: multiple trades:
- #144: Carolina → Kansas City (PD). Carolina traded this selection to Kansas City for defensive end Tank Tyler.[source 51]
- #144: Kansas City → Houston (D). See #93: Houston → Kansas City above.
- ^ #145: San Francisco → Miami (PD). San Francisco traded this selection to Miami for wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr.[source 52]
- ^ #146: multiple trades:
- #146: Denver → Detroit (PD). Denver traded this selection and a 2009 seventh-round selection (235th overall; Detroit selected Zack Follett) to Detroit for a 2009 sixth-round selection (174th overall; Denver selected Tom Brandstater).[source 53]
- #146: Detroit → Cleveland (PD). Detroit traded this selection it acquired from Denver to Cleveland for defensive lineman Corey Williams and a seventh-round selection (214th overall; traded to Minnesota, who selected Mickey Shuler Jr.).[source 54]
- #146: Cleveland → Philadelphia (D). See #59: Philadelphia → Cleveland above.
- #146: Philadelphia → San Diego (D). Philadelphia traded this selection it acquired from Cleveland to San Diego for a fifth-round selection (159th overall; Philadelphia selected Riley Cooper) and a 2011 fifth-round selection.[source 55]
- ^ #149: Atlanta → St. Louis (D). See #135: St. Louis → Atlanta above.
- ^ #150: Houston → New England (D). See #58: New England → Houston above.
- ^ #153: multiple trades:
- #153: New England → Tampa Bay (PD). New England traded this selection to Tampa Bay for tight end Alex Smith.[source 56]
- #153: Tampa Bay → Oakland (D). See #39: Oakland → Tampa Bay above.
- #153: Oakland → Jacksonville (D). See #108: Jacksonville → Oakland above.
- ^ #155: multiple trades:
- #155: Philadelphia → New York Jets (PD). See #127: New York Jets → Philadelphia above.
- #155: New York Jets → Pittsburgh (PD). The New York Jets traded this selection it acquired from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh for wide receiver Santonio Holmes.[source 57]
- #155: Pittsburgh → Arizona (D). Pittsburgh traded this selection it acquired from the New York Jets to Arizona for cornerback Bryant McFadden and a sixth-round selection (195th overall; Pittsburgh selected Antonio Brown).[source 58]
- ^ #157: Arizona → Baltimore (PD). See #88: Baltimore → Arizona above.
- ^ #158: multiple trades:
- #158: Dallas → Denver (PD). Dallas traded this selection to Denver for guard Montrae Holland.[source 59]
- #158: Denver → New England (PD). Denver traded this selection it acquired from Dallas to New England for defensive lineman Le Kevin Smith and a seventh-round selection New England had acquired from Philadelphia (231st overall; after all trades, Washington selected Selvish Capers).[source 60]
- #158: New England → Oakland (PD). See #85: Oakland → New England above.
- #158: Oakland → Jacksonville (PD). Oakland traded this selection to Jacksonville for linebacker Quentin Groves.[source 61]
- #158: Jacksonville → New Orleans (D). Jacksonville traded this selection it acquired from Oakland to New Orleans for a 2011 fourth-round selection.[source 62]
- ^ #159: San Diego → Philadelphia (D). See #146: Philadelphia → San Diego above.
- ^ #160: New York Jets → Cleveland (PD). See #92: New York Jets → Cleveland above.
- ^ #163: multiple trades:
- #163: New Orleans → Philadelphia (PD). New Orleans traded this selection and a 2009 seventh-round selection (222nd overall, later traded to Indianapolis, who selected Pat McAfee) to Philadelphia for a 2009 fifth-round selection (164th overall; New Orleans selected Thomas Morstead).[source 63]
- #163: Philadelphia → St. Louis (PD). Philadelphia traded this selection it acquired from New Orleans and wide receiver Brandon Gibson to St. Louis for linebacker Will Witherspoon.[source 64]
- #163: St. Louis → Washington (PD). See #135: Washington → St. Louis above.
- #163: Washington → Miami (D). Washington traded this selection it acquired from St. Louis to Miami for a sixth-round selection Miami had acquired from Washington (174th overall; Washington selected Dennis Morris) and a seventh-round selection (219th overall; Washington selected Terrence Austin).[source 65]
Round six
Round seven
Supplemental draft selections
Two players were selected in the 2010 Supplemental Draft.
Selections by college conference
Selection totals by college conference:[19]