The 1968 NFL/AFL draft was part of the

common draft The common draft was the selection of college football players in a combined draft from 1967 to 1969 by the American Football League (AFL) and the National Football League (NFL). This took place after the AFL-NFL merger agreement in 1966. From 1 ...

, in the second year in which the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

and AFL held a joint draft of college players. It took place at the

Belmont Plaza Hotel Belmont Plaza Hotel was a hotel in New York City at 49th Street (Manhattan), 49th Street and 541-555 Lexington Avenue, across the street from the Waldorf Astoria New York, Waldorf Astoria. It was purchased by real estate developer and hotelier ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

on January 30–31, 1968. 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 ...

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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

in March 1967 for quarterback

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 ...

. 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 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

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 was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL), primarily for the Minnesota Vikings. He was elected to the College Football Hall of F ...

. This was the last draft until

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

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 Larry Richard Csonka (; born December 25, 1946) is an American former professional football player who was a fullback in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Miami Dolphins. He also played in the NFL for three years with the ...

, 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 Arthur Lee Shell Jr. (born November 26, 1946) is an American former professional football player and coach. He played as an offensive tackle in the American Football League (AFL) and later in the National Football League (NFL) for the Oakland / ...

, 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 the Arizona State Sun Devils Curley Culp (March 10, 1946 – November 27, 2021) was an American professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He played co ...

, 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 col ...

, 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 The Pro Football Hall of Fame includes players, coaches, and contributors (e.g., owners, general managers and team or league officials or other non-players) who have "made outstanding contributions to professional football". The charter class of ...

Notable undrafted players

References

External links

NFL.com – 1968 Draft
*
Pro Football Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:1968 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 ...

Draft NFL

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 ...

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