List of all-time firsts in the NFL Draft
The list of overall first in the NFL Draft represents all players who from 1936 to today in the American football -Liga National Football League (NFL) in the NFL Draft was selected as the first player.
- Year - Includes the year of the draft with a link to the respective NFL season.
- Player - Contains the name of the drafted person in the form first name last name .
- Position - Includes the player's position in college or university .
- College - Includes the player's college or university.
- Team - Contains the team that drafted the player.
- to - Includes the year in which the NFL withdrew from active gaming.
- Notes - Includes notes about the player's first season.
- Highlighted in Gray - The player has been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame .
Note : The list can be sorted : clicking on a column header sorts the list according to this column, clicking twice reverses the sorting. Any desired combination can be achieved by clicking two columns in a row.
| year | player | position | college | team | to | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1936 | Jay Berwanger | Running back | Chicago | Philadelphia Eagles | 1936 | Berwanger never played in the NFL |
| 1937 | Sam Francis | Running back | Nebraska | Philadelphia Eagles | 1940 | |
| 1938 | Corbett Davis | Running back | Indiana | Cleveland Rams | 1942 | |
| 1939 | Ki Aldrich | center | TCU | Chicago Cardinals | 1947 | |
| 1940 | George Cafego | Running back | Tennessee | Chicago Cardinals | 1945 | |
| 1941 | Tom Harmon | Running back | Michigan | Chicago Bears | 1947 | |
| 1942 | Bill Dudley | Running back | Virginia | Pittsburgh Steelers | 1953 | |
| 1943 | Frank Sinkwich | Running back | Georgia | Detroit Lions | 1947 | |
| 1944 | Angelo Bertelli | Quarterback | Notre Dame | Boston Yanks | 1948 | |
| 1945 | Charley Trippi | Running back | Georgia | Chicago Cardinals | 1955 | |
| 1946 | Frank Dancewicz | Quarterback | Notre Dame | Boston Yanks | 1948 | |
| 1947 | Bob Fenimore | Running back | Oklahoma A&M | Chicago Bears | 1947 | |
| 1948 | Harry Gilmer | Quarterback | Alabama | Washington Redskins | 1956 | |
| 1949 | Chuck Bednarik | Center / linebacker | Penn | Philadelphia Eagles | 1962 | |
| 1950 | Leon Hart | End | Notre Dame | Detroit Lions | 1957 | |
| 1951 | Kyle Rote | Running back | SMU | New York Giants | 1961 | |
| 1952 | Bill Wade | Quarterback | Vanderbilt | Los Angeles Rams | 1966 | |
| 1953 | Harry Babcock | End | Georgia | San Francisco 49ers | 1955 | |
| 1954 | Bobby Garrett | Quarterback | Stanford | Cleveland Browns | 1954 | |
| 1955 | George Shaw | Quarterback | Oregon | Baltimore Colts | 1962 | |
| 1956 | Gary Glick | Defensive back | Colorado A&M | Pittsburgh Steelers | 1963 | |
| 1957 | Paul Hornung | Running back | Notre Dame | Green Bay Packers | 1966 | |
| 1958 | King Hill | Quarterback | Rice | Chicago Cardinals | 1969 | |
| 1959 | Randy Duncan | Quarterback | Iowa | Green Bay Packers | 1961 | |
| 1960 | Billy Cannon | Running back | LSU | Los Angeles Rams | 1970 | |
| 1961 | Tommy Mason | Running back | Tulane | Minnesota Vikings | 1971 | |
| 1962 | Ernie Davis | Running back | Syracuse | Washington Redskins | never played in the NFL and was diagnosed with leukemia in the summer of 1962. | |
| 1963 | Terry Baker | Quarterback | Oregon State | Los Angeles Rams | 1965 | |
| 1964 | Dave Parks | End | Texas Tech | San Francisco 49ers | 1973 | |
| 1965 | Tucker Frederickson | Running back | Auburn | New York Giants | 1971 | |
| 1966 | Tommy Nobis | Linebacker | Texas | Atlanta Falcons | 1976 | |
| 1967 | Bubba Smith | Defensive end | Michigan State | Baltimore Colts | 1976 | |
| 1968 | Ron Yary | Offensive tackle | USC | Minnesota Vikings | 1982 | |
| 1969 | OJ Simpson | Running back | USC | Buffalo Bills | 1979 | |
| 1970 | Terry Bradshaw | Quarterback | Louisiana Tech | Pittsburgh Steelers | 1983 | |
| 1971 | Jim Plunkett | Quarterback | Stanford | New England Patriots | 1986 | |
| 1972 | Walt Patulski | Defensive tackle | Notre Dame | Buffalo Bills | 1977 | |
| 1973 | John Matuszak | Defensive end | Tampa | Houston Oilers | 1981 | |
| 1974 | Ed "Too Tall" Jones | Defensive end | Tennessee State | Dallas Cowboys | 1989 | |
| 1975 | Steve Bartkowski | Quarterback | California | Atlanta Falcons | 1986 | |
| 1976 | Lee Roy Selmon | Defensive end | Oklahoma | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 1984 | |
| 1977 | Ricky Bell | Running back | USC | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 1982 | |
| 1978 | Earl Campbell | Running back | Texas | Houston Oilers | 1985 | NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year |
| 1979 | Tom Cousineau | Linebacker | Ohio State | Buffalo Bills | 1987 | from 1982 |
| 1980 | Billy Sims | Running back | Oklahoma | Detroit Lions | 1984 | NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year |
| 1981 | George Rogers | Running back | South carolina | New Orleans Saints | 1987 | NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year |
| 1982 | Kenneth Sims | Defensive tackle | Texas | New England Patriots | 1989 | |
| 1983 | John Elway | Quarterback | Stanford | Baltimore Colts | 1998 | |
| 1984 | Irving Fryar | Wide receiver | Nebraska | New England Patriots | 2000 | |
| 1985 | Bruce Smith | Defensive end | Virginia Tech | Buffalo Bills | 2003 | |
| 1986 | Bo Jackson | Running back | Auburn | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 1990 | from 1987 |
| 1987 | Vinny Testaverde | Quarterback | Miami (FL) | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 2007 | |
| 1988 | Aundray Bruce | Linebacker | Auburn | Atlanta Falcons | 1998 | |
| 1989 | Troy Aikman | Quarterback | UCLA | Dallas Cowboys | 2000 | |
| 1990 | Jeff George | Quarterback | Illinois | Indianapolis Colts | 2006 | |
| 1991 | Russell Maryland | Defensive tackle | Miami (FL) | Dallas Cowboys | 2000 | |
| 1992 | Steve Emtman | Defensive tackle | Washington | Indianapolis Colts | 1997 | |
| 1993 | Drew Bledsoe | Quarterback | Washington State | New England Patriots | 2006 | |
| 1994 | Dan Wilkinson | Defensive tackle | Ohio State | Cincinnati Bengals | 2006 | |
| 1995 | Ki-Jana Carter | Running back | Penn State | Cincinnati Bengals | 2004 | |
| 1996 | Keyshawn Johnson | Wide receiver | USC | New York Jets | 2006 | |
| 1997 | Orlando Pace | Offensive tackle | Ohio State | St. Louis Rams | 2009 | |
| 1998 | Peyton Manning | Quarterback | Tennessee | Indianapolis Colts | 2016 | |
| 1999 | Tim Couch | Quarterback | Kentucky | Cleveland Browns | 2007 | |
| 2000 | Courtney Brown | Defensive end | Penn State | Cleveland Browns | 2006 | |
| 2001 | Michael Vick | Quarterback | Virginia Tech | Atlanta Falcons | 2015 | |
| 2002 | David Carr | Quarterback | Fresno State | Houston Texans | 2012 | |
| 2003 | Carson Palmer | Quarterback | USC | Cincinnati Bengals | 2017 | |
| 2004 | Eli Manning | Quarterback | Ole Miss | San Diego Chargers | 2019 | |
| 2005 | Alex Smith | Quarterback | Utah | San Francisco 49ers | active | |
| 2006 | Mario Williams | Defensive end | NCSU | Houston Texans | 2016 | |
| 2007 | JaMarcus Russell | Quarterback | LSU | Oakland Raiders | 2009 | |
| 2008 | Jake Long | Offensive tackle | Michigan | Miami Dolphins | 2016 | |
| 2009 | Matthew Stafford | Quarterback | Georgia | Detroit Lions | active | |
| 2010 | Sam Bradford | Quarterback | Oklahoma | St. Louis Rams | active | NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year |
| 2011 | Cam Newton | Quarterback | Auburn | Carolina Panthers | active | NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year |
| 2012 | Andrew Luck | Quarterback | Stanford | Indianapolis Colts | 2019 | |
| 2013 | Eric Fisher | Offensive tackle | Central Michigan | Kansas City Chiefs | active | |
| 2014 | Jadeveon Clowney | Defensive end | South carolina | Houston Texans | active | |
| 2015 | Jameis Winston | Quarterback | Florida State | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | active | |
| 2016 | Jared Goff | Quarterback | California | Los Angeles Rams | active | |
| 2017 | Myles Garrett | Defensive end | Texas A&M | Cleveland Browns | active | |
| 2018 | Baker Mayfield | Quarterback | Oklahoma | Cleveland Browns | active | |
| 2019 | Kyler Murray | Quarterback | Oklahoma | Arizona Cardinals | active | |
| 2020 | Joe Burrow | Quarterback | LSU | Cincinnati Bengals | active |
Remarks
- ↑ Did n't sign a contract and therefore didn't play.
- ↑ Signed a contract with the Houston Oilers .
- ↑ Did n't sign a contract, instead went to the CFL .
- Jumped to the Denver Broncos .
- ↑ Did n't sign a contract, took part in next year's draft again.
- ↑ Moved to the New York Giants.