List of first overall National Football League draft picks

This is a list of first overall National Football League draft picks. 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 at least three years. Teams are ranked in reverse order based on the previous season's record, with the worst record picking first. As of the 2011 NFL Draft, a total of 76 players have been selected first overall. The current draft system has seven rounds, and in 2011, 254 players were selected in the draft.

List of first overall picks

     - denotes Pro Bowler (28 players)
     - denotes Hall of Fame (12 players)
Year Player Position College Pro Team
1936 Jay Berwanger Halfback Chicago Philadelphia Eagles (did not sign)
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 (Signed with AFL Houston Oilers)
1961 Tommy Mason Running back Tulane Minnesota Vikings
1962 Ernie Davis Running back Syracuse Washington Redskins (traded to Cleveland Browns)
1963 Terry Baker Quarterback Oregon State Los Angeles Rams
1964 Dave Parks End 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
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 "Too Tall" 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 (did not sign, signed with CFL Montreal Alouettes)
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 (traded to Denver Broncos)
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 (did not sign, entered 1987 NFL Draft)
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 University 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 (traded to the New York Giants)
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

* From 1967–69 the NFL held a common draft with the American Football League, which merged with the NFL in 1970.
** Original #1 selection in 1986 was forfeited by the Cleveland Browns via the Buffalo Bills for selecting Bernie Kosar in the Supplemental Draft in 1985.
*** Original #1 selection in 1990 was forfeited by the Dallas Cowboys for selecting Steve Walsh in the Supplemental Draft in 1989.

Statistics

See also

Early Era (1936–1959)

1936 · 1937 · 1938 · 1939 · 1940 · 1941 · 1942 · 1943 · 1944 · 1945 · 1946 · 1947 · 1948 · 1949 · 1950 · 1951 · 1952 · 1953 · 1954 · 1955 · 1956 · 1957 · 1958 · 1959
AFL and NFL Era (1960–1966)

AFL: 1960 · 1961 · 1962 · 1963 · 1964 · 1965 · 1966 | NFL: 1960 · 1961 · 1962 · 1963 · 1964 · 1965 · 1966
Common Draft (1967–1969)

1967 · 1968 · 1969
Modern Era (1970–present)

1970 · 1971 · 1972 · 1973 · 1974 · 1975 · 1976 · 1977 · 1978 · 1979 · 1980 · 1981 · 1982 · 1983 · 1984 · 1985 · 1986 · 1987 · 1988 · 1989 · 1990 · 1991 · 1992 · 1993 · 1994 · 1995 · 1996 · 1997 · 1998 · 1999 · 2000 · 2001 · 2002 · 2003 · 2004 · 2005 · 2006 · 2007 · 2008 · 2009 · 2010 · 2011 · 2012 · 2013
Expansion Drafts

1960 · 1961 · 1966 · 1967 · 1976 · 1995 · 1999 · 2002
Others
See also
List of first overall National Football League draft picks · Mr. Irrelevant