The

1968 The year was highlighted by Protests of 1968, protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechos ...

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 ma ...

draft was part of the common draft, in the second year in which the NFL and AFL held a joint draft of college players. It took place at the Belmont Plaza Hotel in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

on January 30–31, 1968. The

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

acquired the first overall pick in the draft through a trade with the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...

in March 1967 for quarterback

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

. When establishing the common draft between the NFL and AFL, the Giants were able to negotiate that they would receive the option to pick first in either the

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establ ...

or 1968 NFL/AFL drafts, regardless of the presence of an expansion team or their own record from the previous season. They traded this "special wild card" pick in the Tarkenton trade, and the Vikings chose to exercise it in 1968. The expansion

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The club's home ...

picked second. The Vikings used the first overall pick to select offensive tackle

Ron Yary Anthony Ronald Yary (born July 16, 1946) is an American former professional football player who played as an offensive tackle primarily for the Minnesota Vikings and also for the Los Angeles Rams in the National Football League (NFL). He wa ...

. This was the last draft until 1980 in which the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) ...

exercised their first-round pick. Most of them were traded away by coach George Allen between 1971 and 1977 due to Allen's well-known preference for veteran players over rookies.

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

* Larry Csonka, running back from Syracuse, taken 1st round 8th overall by AFL's Miami Dolphins :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1987.List of 1980s Hall of Fame Inductee's at profootballhof.com * Art Shell, offensive tackle from Maryland Eastern Shore, taken 3rd round 80th overall by AFL's Oakland Raiders :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1989. *

, offensive tackle from Southern California, taken 1st round 1st overall by Minnesota Vikings :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2001.List of 2000s Hall of Fame Inductee's at profootballhof.com * Elvin Bethea, offensive tackle from North Carolina A&T, taken 3rd round 77th overall by AFL's Houston Oilers :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2003. * Charlie Sanders, tight end from Minnesota, taken 3rd round 74th overall by Detroit Lions :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2007. * Curley Culp, defensive tackle from Arizona State, taken 2nd round 31st overall by AFL's Denver Broncos :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2013. * Claude Humphrey, defensive end from Tennessee State, taken 1st round 3rd overall by Atlanta Falcons :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2014. *

Ken Stabler Kenneth Michael Stabler (December 25, 1945 – July 8, 2015) was an American professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons, primarily with the Oakland Raiders. Nicknamed "Snake", he played c ...

, quarterback from Alabama, taken 2nd round 52nd overall by AFL's Oakland Raiders :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2016. List of Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees

Notable undrafted players

References

External links

NFL.com – 1968 Draft

Pro Football Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:1968 Nfl Draft National Football League Draft Draft Draft NFL

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 ...