First Overall NFL and AFL Draft Picks
Following are the players who were chosen first overall in the NFL and AFL drafts from 1936 to 1978. If a card is shown for a player, you can click on the image to see all of the player's cards in the Gallery.
National Football League
The National Football League held its first draft of college players in 1936. The first player chosen in the first draft, Jay Berwanger, also happened to be the first-ever Heisman Trophy winner. (Also see the Gallery's page of cards of Heisman Trophy candidates.)
Berwanger opted not to play in the NFL, instead taking a job with a Chicago rubber company. Many of the other early first picks had short NFL careers and did not appear on pro football cards, either. Fortunately, the 1955 Topps All-American set included several of the players for their college accomplishments.
The NFL and AFL held a "common draft" from 1967 to 1969, after the leagues had agreed to merge, but before they actually did. The picks from the common draft appear here, in the NFL section.
1936 Philadelphia Eagles Chicago |
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1937 Sam Francis Philadelphia Eagles Nebraska |
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1938 Corbett Davis Cleveland Rams Indiana |
1939 Chicago Cardinals TCU |
1940 Chicago Cardinals Tennessee |
1941 Chicago Bears Michigan |
1942 Pittsburgh Steelers Virginia |
1943 Detroit Lions Georgia |
1944 Boston Yanks Notre Dame |
1945 Chicago Cardinals Georgia |
1946 Boston Yanks Notre Dame |
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1947 Bob Fenimore Chicago Bears Oklahoma State |
1948 Washington Redskins Alabama |
1949 Philadelphia Eagles Pennsylvania |
1950 Detroit Lions Notre Dame |
1951 New York Giants SMU |
1952 Los Angeles Rams Vanderbilt |
1953 San Francisco 49ers Georgia |
1954 Cleveland Browns Stanford |
1955 Baltimore Colts Oregon |
1956 Pittsburgh Steelers Colorado State |
1957 Green Bay Packers Notre Dame |
1958 Chicago Cardinals Rice |
1959 Green Bay Packers Iowa |
1960 Los Angeles Rams LSU |
1961 Minnesota Vikings Tulane |
1962 Washington Redskins Syracuse |
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1963 Terry Baker Los Angeles Rams Oregon State |
1964 San Francisco 49ers Texas Tech |
1965 New York Giants Auburn |
1966 Atlanta Falcons Texas |
1967 Baltimore Colts Michigan State |
1968 Minnesota Vikings USC |
1969 Buffalo Bills USC |
1970 Pittsburgh Steelers Louisiana Tech |
1971 New England Patriots Stanford |
1972 Buffalo Bills Notre Dame |
1973 Houston Oilers Tampa |
1974 Dallas Cowboys Tennessee State |
1975 Atlanta Falcons California |
1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Oklahoma |
1977 Tampa Bay Buccaneers USC |
1978 Houston Oilers Texas |
American Football League
Before the AFL and NFL agreed to merge, the AFL held its own college draft. Surprisingly, there was no overlap between the AFL's first overall picks and the NFL's. Three of the players chosen first overall in the AFL drafts--namely Roman Gabriel, Jack Concannon, and Jim Grabowski--signed with NFL teams instead.
1961 Buffalo Bills Auburn |
1962 Oakland Raiders North Carolina State |
1963 Kansas City Chiefs Grambling |
1964 Boston Patriots Boston College |
1965 New York Jets Alabama |
1966 Miami Dolphins Illinois |
*Heisman Trophy winner
+Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee