The 1996 NFL draft was the procedure by which

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...

teams selected amateur

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 20–21, 1996, at the Paramount Theatre at Madison Square Garden in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, New York. No teams chose to claim any players in the supplemental draft that year. On draft day, the St. Louis Rams traded running back Jerome Bettis and a third-round draft pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for a second round pick for that year, as well as a fourth round pick the following year. The trade was made immediately after the Rams drafted

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

running back Lawrence Phillips. Bettis went on to have a successful career with the Steelers as well as being one of the team's most popular players, while the Rams wouldn't have another feature back until they traded for Marshall Faulk three years later due to Phillips' off-field problems. The draft also saw one of the longest waits for a player in attendance of the draft, as

Leeland McElroy Leeland Anthony McElroy (born June 25, 1974) is an American former professional football player who was a running back and kick returner in the National Football League (NFL) for two seasons during the 1990s. He played college football for th ...

waited until being selected in the second round by the Arizona Cardinals with the 32nd pick. McElroy, who ended up being a draft bust, would set the precedent for later players who've waited while in attendance, including Ben Roethlisberger and

Aaron Rodgers Aaron Charles Rodgers (born December 2, 1983) is an American football quarterback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). Rodgers began his college football career at Butte College in 2002 before transferring to t ...

, who unlike McElroy would go on to successful NFL careers. This draft is considered one of the best draft classes ever for the position of wide receiver. Keyshawn Johnson, Terry Glenn,

Eddie Kennison Eddie Joseph Kennison, III (born January 20, 1973) is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football at Louisiana State University and was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the first round of the 1996 NFL Draft. Kennison a ...

, Marvin Harrison, Eric Moulds,

Bobby Engram Simon J. "Bobby" Engram III (born January 7, 1973) is a retired American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the second round of the 1996 NFL Draft. He played college football at Penn State. Engram also played for th ...

, Terrell Owens, Muhsin Muhammad,

Amani Toomer Amani Askari Toomer (born September 8, 1974) is a former American football wide receiver and punt returner who played his entire career for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He registered over 1,000 receiving yards each ...

, Jermaine Lewis, and

Joe Horn Joseph Horn (born January 16, 1972) is a former American football wide receiver and current assistant coach at Northeast Mississippi Community College. He was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fifth round of the 1996 NFL Draft, and also ...

have all achieved success in the pros, with all except Kennison, Engram, and Toomer having reached the Pro Bowl at least once, and a total of 26 Pro Bowl appearances for the group. In addition to the class having had several successful receivers, none of the five wide receivers drafted in the first round have been busts, as all of them spent at least a reasonable amount of time as starters in the NFL. Combined, 1996 wide receivers (through the end of the 2006 season) have totalled 7,646 receptions for 105,866 yards, eclipsing any other class by more than 1,000 receptions and 10,000 yards. It was also one of the best draft years for middle linebackers, with Hall of Famer

Ray Lewis Raymond Anthony Lewis Jr. (born May 15, 1975) is an American former professional football player who played as a middle linebacker with the Baltimore Ravens for his entire 17-year career in the National Football League (NFL). He played ...

and

Zach Thomas Zachary Michael Thomas (born September 1, 1973) is an American former professional football player who was a middle linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons. He played college football for Texas Tech University, and wa ...

selected. Lewis won Super Bowl XXXV with the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

and was selected MVP of that game. Lewis also won Super Bowl XLVII in the final game of his career and made 13 career Pro Bowls while Thomas has made 7. Other linebackers who made at least one Pro Bowl from this draft are Tedy Bruschi, Kevin Hardy,

Simeon Rice Simeon James Rice (; born February 24, 1974) is a former American football defensive end. He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals third overall in the 1996 NFL Draft. In his 12-year NFL career, Rice recorded 122 sacks, forced 25 fumbles, recov ...

John Mobley John Ulysses Mobley (born October 10, 1973 in Chester, Pennsylvania) is a former American Football linebacker who played eight seasons for the Denver Broncos from 1996 through 2003 in the National Football League. One of 9 children to parents wh ...

, and

Donnie Edwards Donnie Edwards (born April 6, 1973) is a former American football linebacker from San Diego, California. He played for thirteen seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Diego Chargers. He began his car ...

Randall Godfrey Randall Euralentris Godfrey (born April 6, 1973) is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League. Godfrey played college football at the University of Georgia, where he majored in housing and consumer economics. He also ...

Earl Holmes Earl L. Holmes (born April 28, 1973) is a former American football linebacker and former head coach at Florida A&M University. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 4th round of the 1996 NFL Draft 126th overall out of Florida A&M Unive ...

, and Carlos Emmons also had solid careers in the league. Ironically,

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

draft expert

Mel Kiper Mel Kiper Jr. (; born July 25, 1960) is an analyst covering American football for ESPN. He has appeared on ESPN's annual NFL draft coverage since 1984, providing in-depth information on the nation's potential draft picks. Career Kiper said th ...

said before the draft that it was one of the weakest for the position, which he would ultimately be proven wrong. In contrast to its successes at wide receiver and linebacker, the 1996 draft had often been rated as the worst for quarterbacks.NFL Draft History: Quarterback Draft Class Facts and Figures
/ref> None of the eight drafted quarterbacks made the Pro Bowl or an All-Pro team and half did not play. , this remains the last draft without a quarterback selected in the first round. Previously, the 1988 draft had been the last with no quarterback selected in the first round.The first quarterback in the 1988 draft wasn't selected until the third round.

Player selections

Notable undrafted players

Hall of Famers

* Jonathan Ogden, offensive tackle from UCLA, taken 1st round 4th overall by the Baltimore Ravens. :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2013. * Marvin Harrison, wide receiver from Syracuse, taken 1st round 19th overall by the Indianapolis Colts. :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2016. *

, linebacker from Miami (FL), taken 1st round 26th overall by the Baltimore Ravens. :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2018. *

Brian Dawkins Brian Patrick Dawkins Sr. (born October 13, 1973) is an American former football safety who played 16 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Philadelphia Eagles. He played college football at Clemson and was drafted b ...

, safety from Clemson, taken 2nd round 61st overall by the Philadelphia Eagles. :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2018. * Terrell Owens, wide receiver from Chattanooga, taken 3rd round 89th overall by the San Francisco 49ers. :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2018.

Trades

In the explanations below, (D) denotes trades that took place during the 1994 Draft, while (PD) indicates trades completed pre-draft. ;Round one ;Round two ;Round three ;Round four ;Round five ;Round six ;Round seven

Notes

References

External links

NFL.com – 1996 Draft

Pro Football Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:1996 Nfl Draft National Football League Draft Draft

NFL Draft The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...

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