The 1998 NFL draft was the procedure by which

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teams selected amateur

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The

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 ...

was held April 18–19,

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, at

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. The league also held a supplemental draft after the regular draft and before the regular season. Before the draft, there was much debate in the media on if the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

would select

Peyton Manning Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons. Nicknamed "the Sheriff", he spent 14 seasons with the In ...

or Ryan Leaf with the first overall pick. Both were considered excellent prospects and future franchise quarterbacks: Leaf was considered to have more upside and a stronger throwing arm, whereas Manning was considered a polished prospect who was NFL ready and more mature. On the day of the draft, the Colts selected Manning due to Leaf's disdain for Indianapolis, with Leaf being selected second overall by the San Diego Chargers. Manning went on to be a five-time Most Valuable Player Award winner (the most of any player in NFL history) and a two-time Super Bowl champion (in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

with the Colts and in 2015 with the

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), and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021, while Leaf was out of the NFL by 2002, having earned a 4–17 record, and is considered one of the biggest draft busts in NFL history.

Player selections

Supplemental draft

A supplemental draft was held in the summer of 1998. For each player selected in the supplemental draft, the team forfeits its pick in that round in the draft of the following season. The Green Bay Packers and San Diego Chargers both selected players in the 2nd round.

Notable undrafted players

Hall of Famers

* Randy Moss, wide receiver from Marshall, taken 1st round 21st overall by the Minnesota Vikings. :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame Class of 2018. *

, quarterback from Tennessee, taken 1st round 1st overall by the Indianapolis Colts. :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame Class of 2021. * Charles Woodson, cornerback from Michigan, taken 1st round 4th overall by the Oakland Raiders. :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame Class of 2021. * Alan Faneca, guard from LSU, taken 1st round 26th overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers. :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame Class of 2021.

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

1998 NFL draft
{{DEFAULTSORT:1998 Nfl Draft NFL draft

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 ...

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 ...

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