1976 NFL Draft

The 1976 National Football League draft was an annual player selection meeting held April 8–9, 1976, at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City, New York.^[1][2]

The draft lasted 17 rounds, with the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks making the first two selections. The expansion teams were also given a pair of extra picks at the end of each of rounds 2–5.

Five teams lost picks as a penalty for illegally signing former World Football League players: the New York Giants and Chicago Bears lost sixth-round picks, the Washington Redskins lost their seventh-round pick, and the Atlanta Falcons and New York Jets lost their tenth-round selections.^[3]

The 1976 draft was the final NFL draft to last seventeen rounds; it was reduced to twelve rounds in 1977, and it was the first draft to officially have the infamous unofficial award, Mr. Irrelevant, for the final player selected.

Player selections

Round one

Round two

Round three

Round four

Round five

Round six

Round seven

Round eight

Round nine

Round ten

Round eleven

Round twelve

Round thirteen

Round fourteen

Round fifteen

Round sixteen

Round seventeen

Hall of Famers

• Steve Largent, wide receiver from Tulsa taken 4th round 117th overall by the Houston Oilers.

Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1995.^[7]

• Lee Roy Selmon, defensive end from Oklahoma taken 1st round 1st overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1995.^[7]

• Mike Haynes, cornerback from Arizona State taken 1st round 5th overall by the New England Patriots.

Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1997.^[7]

• Jackie Slater, offensive tackle from Jackson State taken 3rd round 86th overall by the Los Angeles Rams.

Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2001.^[8]

• Harry Carson, linebacker from South Carolina State taken 4th round 105th overall by the New York Giants.

Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2006.^[8]

Notable undrafted players

References

1. ↑ "NFL Draft Locations". FootballGeography.com. October 2, 2014. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved October 23, 2014. 
2. ↑ Salomone, Dan (October 2, 2014). "NFL Draft headed to Chicago in 2015". Giants.com. New York Giants. Archived from the original on September 30, 2015. Retrieved June 3, 2015. 
3. ↑ Wire Services. "Bucs Open Draft By Taking Leroy Selmon". The Sarasota Journal. 8 Apr 1976
4. 1 2 3 Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro-Bowl at any time in their career.
5. ↑ Archie Griffin, 1974 and 1975 Heisman Trophy winner ^{"Heisman Trophy". Archived from the original on 2009-06-08. Retrieved 2008-08-04.} 
6. ↑ This last selection is commonly referred to as Mr. Irrelevant.
7. 1 2 3 List of 1990s Hall of Fame Inductee's at profootballhof.com ^{"Pro Football Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on 2008-07-31. Retrieved 2008-10-11.} 
8. 1 2 List of 2000s Hall of Fame Inductee's at profootballhof.com ^{"Pro Football Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on 2008-07-31. Retrieved 2008-10-11.} 

External links

• NFL.com – 1976 Draft
• databaseFootball.com – 1976 Draft
• Pro Football Hall of Fame