The National Football League Draft is an annual sports draft in which NFL teams select newly eligible players for their rosters. To be eligible, a player must be out of high school for at least three years. Each NFL franchise seeks to add new players through the annual NFL Draft. The draft rules were last updated in 2009. The team with the worst record the previous year picks first, the next-worst team second, and so on. Teams also have the option to trade with another team to move up to a better draft position. Teams that did not make the playoffs are ordered by their regular-season record, with any remaining ties broken by strength of schedule. Playoff participants are sequenced after non-playoff teams, based on their round of elimination (wild card, division, conference, and Super Bowl).[1]
From 1947 through 1958 the first selection was awarded by a random draw. The team which received this "bonus" pick forfeited its selection in the final round of the draft. The winner of the "bonus pick" was eliminated from the draw in future years. By 1958 all twelve clubs in the league at the time had received a bonus choice and the system was abolished.[2][3]
Before the merger agreements in 1966, the American Football League (AFL) operated in direct competition with the NFL and held a separate draft. This led to a massive bidding war over top prospects between the two leagues, along with the subsequent drafting of the same player in each draft. As part of the merger agreement on June 8, 1966, the two leagues held a multiple round "common draft". Once the AFL officially merged with the NFL in 1970, the "common draft" simply became the NFL draft.[4][5][6] The draft is one of the most notable events in American sports, with live broadcasts of it produced by ESPN, Fox and ABC.[7]
Through the 2022 NFL Draft, 87 players have been selected first overall, with the most recent being Travon Walker from Georgia. The Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Rams have each made the most first overall selections in history with seven. Of the first overall draft picks, 43 have been selected to a Pro Bowl and of those 43, twelve have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. While the Heisman Trophy is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in U.S. college football, only 21 of those Heisman winners have been selected first overall in the NFL draft. Six first overall draft pick players have been selected the NFL Rookie of the Year: Earl Campbell (1978); Billy Sims (1980); George Rogers (1981); Sam Bradford (2010); Cam Newton (2011); and Kyler Murray (2019).
| K | Kicker | NT | Nose tackle | C | Center |
| LB | Linebacker | FB | Fullback | DB | Defensive back |
| P | Punter | HB | Halfback | DE | Defensive end |
| QB | Quarterback | WR/E | Wide receiver/End | DT | Defensive tackle |
| G | Guard | T | Offensive tackle | TE | Tight end |
| * | Selected to a Pro Bowl/All-Star Game | ||||
| ‡ | Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame (all were also selected to a Pro Bowl) | ||||
| § | Denotes an expansion team | ||||
Tom Harmon was selected with the first overall pick in 1941 by the Chicago Bears.
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Billy Cannon was the first pick in the 1960 NFL draft.
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O. J. Simpson was drafted first overall by the Buffalo Bills in 1969.
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John Elway was the first pick in the 1983 NFL draft.
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Orlando Pace was drafted first overall by the St. Louis Rams in 1997.
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Cam Newton was the first overall pick in the 2011 NFL draft.
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The Indianapolis Colts chose Andrew Luck with the first overall pick in 2012.
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The Los Angeles Rams selected Jared Goff with the first pick in 2016.
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The Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Rams have each held the first overall pick a total of seven times, the most of any NFL team. This includes the Colts' time in Baltimore and the Rams' time in Cleveland and St. Louis. The Boston Yanks are the only defunct franchise to have held a first overall pick.[79]
Notre Dame, USC, Oklahoma, and Georgia are tied for most first overall picks with 5 each. Only two schools have had first overall picks in consecutive years: USC, with Ron Yary (1968) and O. J. Simpson (1969), and Oklahoma, with Baker Mayfield (2018) and Kyler Murray (2019).[109]
| Position | Number of selections | Last year selected |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 34 |
2021
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| Running backs | 23 |
1995
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| Defensive linemen | 16 |
2022
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| Offensive linemen | 6 |
2013
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| Wide receivers/tight ends | 5 |
1996
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| Linebackers | 5 |
2022
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| Defensive backs | 1 |
1956
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