The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, 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 ...

(NFL) teams selected amateur

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players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

. 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 26–27,

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden in

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New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. The league also held a supplemental draft after the regular draft and before the regular season. The draft was broadcast on

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and

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beginning at noon on Saturday, April 26 and beginning at 11:00 am on Sunday, April 27. The draft consisted of seven rounds, with teams selecting in the reverse order of the finish the previous season. There were 32 compensatory picks distributed among 15 teams, with five teams each receiving four additional selections. In addition, the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

, who started play as an expansion franchise the previous season, were granted a supplemental selection in the middle of each of the draft's final five rounds, plus the final selection in the final two rounds. There was little drama when the draft began with the

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 ...

selecting Carson Palmer, as Palmer had agreed to contract terms with the Bengals the previous day. He became the first

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winner selected first overall in the draft since

Vinny Testaverde Vincent Frank Testaverde Sr. (; born November 13, 1963) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 21 seasons. He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes, earning con ...

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. The event ended nearly 30 hours later with Ryan Hoag being chosen by the Oakland Raiders with the final pick and thus gaining the distinction of " Mr. Irrelevant". The draft took an odd turn with 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 ...

and their pick (seventh) in the first round. The Vikings were apparently attempting to consummate a trade when their fifteen-minute time allowance elapsed. The

Jaguars The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat species in the Americas an ...

who selected next were quick to pounce, turning in their card to select QB Byron Leftwich immediately after the Vikings' time elapsed. The Panthers also took advantage of the gaffe, selecting OT Jordan Gross before the Vikings recovered and selected DT Kevin Williams. Nevertheless, the mistake may have worked in the Vikings' favor as Williams went on to be a mainstay in their team, missing only four games in his first 10 seasons in the NFL and making six Pro Bowls. The colleges with the most players selected in the draft were

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Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

and

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which each had eight players chosen. Meanwhile,

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

and Miami each had four players selected in the first round. Eleven defensive linemen were selected in round one, eclipsing the previous record of nine, set in

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

. Ten underclassmen were taken in the first round, including three of the first four overall selections. The first round lasted nearly five hours. The

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selection of Miami's Willis McGahee as the first running back off the board was notable because he was recovering from a career-threatening injury he suffered in the Fiesta Bowl which it was believed could have caused him to miss the upcoming season. This draft is notable for its excellent undrafted players, including longtime Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo and longtime San Diego Chargers, Hall of Famer, tight end Antonio Gates. The 262 players chosen in the draft were in the following positions: __TOC__

Player selections

Trades

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

Supplemental draft selections

For each player selected in the Supplemental Draft, the team forfeited its pick in that round in the draft of the following season.

Notable undrafted players

Hall of Famers

* Troy Polamalu, strong safety from USC, taken 1st round 16th overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers. :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame Class of 2020 * Andre Johnson, wide receiver from Miami (FL), taken 1st round 3rd overall by the Houston Texans. :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame Class of 2024. * Antonio Gates, tight end from Kent State, undrafted. :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025.

References

;General references * * * * * ;Trade references ;Specific references {{DEFAULTSORT:2003 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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