The 1961 NFL draft took place at the Warwick Hotel in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

on December 27–28, 1960. The league would later hold an

expansion draft An expansion draft, in professional sports, occurs when a sports league decides to create one or more new expansion teams or sports franchising, franchises. This occurs mainly in Sports in North America, North American sports and closed leagues. O ...

for the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

expansion franchise. This draft was also the first regular draft for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

as they had only participated in the 1960 NFL expansion draft that year. The Cowboys held the worst record in the NFL the previous season, but selected second in this draft because the expansion Vikings were awarded the first overall pick. The Vikings used that pick to select running back Tommy Mason.

Player selections

Round one

* ^HOF Member of the Professional Football Hall of Fame

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

Round eighteen

Round nineteen

Round twenty

Hall of Famers

Herb Adderley Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typically distingui ...

, running back from Michigan State taken 1st round 14th overall by the Green Bay Packers. :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1980.List of 1980s Hall of Fame Inductees * Bob Lilly, tackle from Texas Christian University taken 1st round 13th overall by the Dallas Cowboys. :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1980, * David "Deacon" Jones, defensive end from South Carolina State taken 14th round 186th overall by the Los Angeles Rams. :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1980. *

Fran Tarkenton Francis Asbury Tarkenton (born February 3, 1940), nicknamed "the Scrambler", is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Minnesota Vikings. He is wi ...

, quarterback from Georgia taken 3rd round 29th overall by the Minnesota Vikings. :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1986. *

Mike Ditka Michael Keller Ditka ( ; born Michael Dyczko; October 18, 1939) is an American former professional American football, football player, coach, and television commentator. During his playing career, he was UPI NFL-NFC Rookie of the Year, UPI NFL R ...

, tight end from the University of Pittsburgh taken 1st round 5th overall by the Chicago Bears. :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1988. * James Earl "Jimmy" Johnson, running back from UCLA taken 1st round 6th overall by the San Francisco 49ers. :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1994.List of 1990s Hall of Fame Inductees *

Billy Shaw William Lewis Shaw (December 15, 1938 – October 4, 2024) was an American professional football player who was a guard for the Buffalo Bills in the American Football League (AFL). After playing college football for the Georgia Tech Yellow Ja ...

, offensive guard from Georgia Tech taken 14th round 184th overall by the Dallas Cowboys, signed by the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

of the AFL. :Inducted: Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 1999.

Notable undrafted players

References

External links

NFL.com – 1961 Draft
*
Pro Football Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:1961 Nfl Draft NFL draft

Draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

NFL draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

1960s in Philadelphia American football in Philadelphia

Events in Philadelphia