Evolution of the Draft: From 30 Rounds to Compensatory Picks Explained! | NFL Explained

can you name the four teams who have never drafted first overall did you know the raiders are the only team to draft a punter and a kicker in the first round and who are the four hall of famers taken with the top five picks in 1989 the draft has seen its share of incredible moments atlanta has selected brett favor maybe a while for him back there in the green room now another big time low moment hey coach what was once a behind closed doors business function has become a traveling made for tv extravaganza but how did we get here this is the evolution of the nfl draft in the early years of the nfl signing college stars was a total free-for-all legends like red grange dutch clark and don hudson signed with the league's most prestigious teams or those that would offer the most money but all that changed when philadelphia eagles co-owner and future nfl commissioner bert bell took a stand struggling to sell tickets without marquis talent bell proposed an idea in 1935. rather than the bears packers and giants dominating the league forever the nfl should level the playing field and hold a draft so that every team had a chance to sign top college talent the vote was unanimously approved and on february 8 1936 at a philadelphia ritz carlton the nfl draft was born here's how it went down nine rounds with the order going in inverse of the previous year's standings the worst team picked first the best team picked last no film scouting combines or pro days selections were untimed and made based on newspaper clippings and word of mouth each team submitted a list of the 10 best college seniors it had heard of and the league pulled all 90 names on a blackboard bell's eagles secured the number one overall pick and took the first ever heisman trophy winner running back jay burwanger he never played it down in the nfl and would go on to sell rubber the first draft pick ever turned down the nfl to be a foam rubber salesman this is true this would be a common theme in the early days of the draft in fact as many chose to skip football altogether making more money in other ventures pro football players made a hundred bucks a game at best in these days in 1946 rams owner dan reeves changed the course of draft history he hired eddie cottle the nfl's first full-time scout in turn the rams would go on to have the deepest team in the league throughout the nineteen fifties norm van brockman drops back throws an arching pass up field reggie tom piers gathers it in on the dead run and races all the way to score for los angeles the emergence of a rival league in 1946 would foreshadow one of the draft's biggest dilemmas over the years in 1949 indiana university halfback george talafero number 20 joined the los angeles dons in the all-american football conference the all-america football conference better known as the aafc would poach stars like y.a tiddle and otto graham after they'd already been drafted by nfl teams to shake things up the nfl implemented the bonus pick from 1947 to 1958 rather than the number one overall selection going to the worst team in the league it would now be decided by the lottery in 1948 the eagles finished nine two and one they were awarded the first pick in the 1949 draft and happily took future hall of fame linebacker chuck bednarik shaw sends the ball flying in the second quarter with a completion of frank gifford during the 1960s the draft was forced to evolve again in the face of competition with strong tv deals the upstart afl had the revenue to support the signing of big time college talent in 1960 the rams drafted heisman trophy winner billy cannon number one overall only to see him sign a larger contract with the afl's houston oilers the competition for talent was fierce in 1962 receiver lance allworth had been drafted by both leagues that's when al davis then with the chargers surprised all worth with his afl contract on the field of the sugar bowl just as allworth finished his college career al was a legend san diego chargers are fortunate to have lance orworth in their stable pro football's finest receiver while both leagues duked it out for top players the cowboys were on the verge of something special led by general manager tex schramm dallas was the first pro football franchise to introduce computerized scouting with the help of personnel guru gil brandt the cowboys went on to draft six future hall of famers in the 1960s alone well the cowboys made a miracle roger he's going long down the near sideline for drew pearson pearson makes the catch at the five touchdown staubach hit pearson on a 50-yard touchdown while he didn't join the team until 1969 because of military obligations roger stahlbach was a 10th round selection in the 1964 draft many call it the best class ever a record 10 future hall of famers in one group including carl eller paul krauss and leroy kelly the bidding war took another turn when the rams had team officials develop relationships with prospects before they were even drafted nfl commissioner pete rozelle eventually had every team adopt this strategy these quote babysitters as they'd be known took prospects away from their schools during the afl draft so teams had no way to contact them skip to 1965 where the nfl's cardinals and afl's jets battled it out for quarterback joe namath the alabama star wanted top dollar and the jets obliged new york signed nameth to the largest rookie contract in nfl history four hundred thousand dollars and that was that but nameth has not been bashful this week and he has said that the jets are going to win he doesn't even predict it he said i guarantee you may be sitting in one of sports greatest updates in history the league's finally merged and there would be a 17-round common draft with the time limit for each pick while we've seen consistency in the amount of rounds over the last three decades it changed a lot in the draft's early years we mentioned the first draft was nine rounds by 1939 it jumped to 20 then all the way up to 30 rounds in 1943 due to world war ii teams weren't sure how many players would actually sign based on their military duties it went down to 25 rounds in 1949 then back up to 30 down again to 20 rounds in 1960 17 rounds in 1967 12 rounds in 1977 then down to eight rounds before settling on the seven round format we have today so would tom brady have been a 16th round pick if the draft stayed at 30 rounds doubtful but let's take a look at more late round gems through the years [Applause] of richard sherman well i'm the best corner of the game when you try me with a sorry receiver like crappy that's the result you're gonna get dominant defenders like richard sherman rodney harrison kevin green lester hayes and robert mathis were all fifth round selections terrell davis and antonio brown somehow felt around six td's denver teammate shannon sharp went in the seventh super bowl 20 mvp richard dent was an eighth-round pick hall of famers johnny united and ken houston were both 9th rounders legendary rams receiver tom fears waited until round 11. george blanda dropped to the 12th while deacon jones may be the greatest defensive player of his generation when in round 14. dave jones is him to drop him for a 17-yard loss the packers stumbled on bart starr in the 17th round and then you have colts legend raymond berry who went in round 20 and in 1953 the giants found six-time all-pro tackle rosie brown in the 27th round the 39th annual national football league selection meeting is now in session if there was one team that owned the draft in the 1970s it was the pittsburgh steelers their future was decided on a 1970 coin toss where they won the first pick in the draft louisiana tech quarterback terry bradshaw then in 1974 they had arguably the greatest draft haul of all time four future hall of famers receivers lin swann and john stalworth linebacker jack lambert and center mike webster throughout the 1970s pittsburgh drafted eight players that went on to be enshrined in canton the pittsburgh steelers are the champions of the national football league for the fourth time the 70s also saw the birth of mr irrelevant coined by former nfl receiver paul salada the moniker would represent the final player selected in the draft dayton whiteout kelvin kirk was the first official pick coined mr irrelevant after the steelers took him last in 1976 and over the years we've seen some of these guys turn in surprisingly relevant careers fullback jim finn was the final pick in 1999 and paved the way for edgar and james and tiki barber for seven years 2000 mr irrelevant michael green racked up 118 tackles for the bears in 2002 then there's kicker ryan suck up this is 52. suck ups kick good 77 was a big year for the draft cut down to 12 rounds and moved to the spring we also saw the creation of the supplemental draft it accommodated players who missed the filing deadline for the regular draft or had their college eligibility affected teams aren't required to participate but if they do they can bid on a player by telling the league what round pick they are willing to give up if no other team submits a bid they're awarded the player and lose a pick in the following year's draft the highest bidder gets the player if multiple teams are involved the very first supplemental draft pick was notre dame running back al hunter in 1977. the seahawks used a fourth round pick on him losing their fourth round selection in the subsequent 1978 draft and you may know these guys chris carter bernie cosar the boss tyrell pryor and josh gordon all supplemental draft picks all right let's fast forward to 1980. espn had just launched this network and approached commissioner pete rozelle about televising the draft his reply who would watch the draft roselle ultimately gave the ok and on a tuesday morning in late april the nfl draft was live from a ballroom at the new york sheridan national football league selection meeting is now in session espn's coverage provided the drama for the at home audience passionate fans filled the ballrooms while draft expert mel keiper critiqued every pick give me a break that's why the colts are picking second every year in the draft not battling for the super bowl like other clubs in the national football league who in the hell is mel keiper in a way putting the draft on cv proved to be an instant hit and it didn't hurt that the greatest quarterback class of all time was right around the corner baltimore selects as the first choice in the draft quarterback john elway of stanford john elway dan marino and jim kelly were among six quarterbacks selected in round one of the 83 draft and if that's not enough you also had eric dickerson bruce matthews and daryl green just in the first round best draft of all time that's the draft people point to as the gold standard the broncos are one of four teams who have never drafted with the first overall pick they're joined by the seahawks the ravens and the jaguars but jacksonville of course does have the first overall selection in 2021 elway leads the broncos 98 yards denver traded for elway in 1983 after the stanford star threatened to play pro baseball over signing with the colts then there was one of the most memorable slides in draft history five quarterbacks would be selected before miami found a once in a generation talent mourinho wide open field throws for a touchdown breaks the all-time nfl records the nfl found a new competitor in the 1980s by holding its draft in january the usfl had the first crack at top talent in the mid 80s herschel walker reggie white jim kelly and steve young couldn't say no to the new league's lucrative offers the dominant sports story is the 40 million dollar contract signed by byu's all-american quarterback steve young with the los angeles express of the usfl but by 1986 the usfl folded and it was back to normal in 1988 the nfl moved the draft from tuesday to a weekend tv slot that draft didn't see a quarterback taken until the 68th pick the cardinals drafted ohio state quarterback tom tupa who'd later make the pro bowl as a punter tupa was a legend the buckeyes have had 459 players drafted since 1936 that's the third most of any school usc tops the list with 501 followed by notre dame oklahoma and michigan he's gone for a touchdown barry sanders this is one of the best linebackers in america finds an alley it's going gonna be a touchdown dion sanders does it get any better for a top five the 1989 draft saw four absolute superstars taken in the first five picks barry sanders also became the first college junior to enter the nfl draft but a few months later there would be another running back to shake up the draft in 1989 herschel walker was by far the best player the cowboys had but new dallas coach jimmy johnson had a different idea for the future so he sent walker to minnesota and acquired eight future draft picks in the process i think we all remember what happened next [Applause] johnson was the first coach to assign a point value to each draft pick the draft value chart gives a numerical representation of each pick to balance out trades for example in the 2021 draft combining picks 6 and 7 in the first round 3 100 points is considered almost equal to the first overall pick of 3 000 points it didn't technically happen on draft day but the walker trade has to be considered one of the most monumental deals in draft history twelve years earlier dallas traded up to number two for heisman trophy winner tony dorsett tony dorsett has scored his first touchdown as a pro the oilers sent four picks to tampa securing earl campbell at number one in 1978. here goes coming off the super bowl season bill walsh and the 49ers boldly jumped up 12 spots for a mississippi valley state receiver named jerry rice montana rice he's open no flags are down touchdown in 1990 the colts traded pro bowl tackle chris hinton receiver andre ryzen and two picks to the falcons in return for the first overall pick who'd eventually become jeff george eight years later the chargers traded up one spot to presumably take their franchise quarterback ryan leaf and saints coach mike ditka traded every pick he had for texas running back ricky williams he traded his entire draft the whole thing first third fourth fifth sixth and seventh round picks and new orleans first and third round picks in next year's draft 2001 saw the falcons swap picks with the chargers ending up as a win-win for both teams atlanta took michael vick first overall while san diego ended up with ladainian tomlinson tensions were palpable in 2004 when against his wishes eli manning was selected with the number one pick san diego chargers and the new york giants have exchanged their draft picks eli manning and philip rivers the 0-4 draft had 17 quarterbacks go off the board the most ever since the draft moved to seven rounds in 2010 we saw the broncos shock everyone by trading up for tim tebow the falcons packaged five draft picks to move up for julio jones in 2011. the following year washington combined three first round picks and a second round pick to move up for robert griffin the third in 2016 the rams and eagles traded up into the first and second spots taking jared goff and carson wentz respectively the quarterback hunt didn't stop in 2017 as three teams move up for their future signal caller the kansas city chiefs select patrick mahomes the 1984 and 1992 drafts produced zero hall of famers but you can thank the usfl in 84 for taking steve young and reggie white 1992 had no such excuses among the top 10 were steve emtman dave klingler and michigan heisman winner desmond howard in 1994 compensatory picks were introduced the league can assign as many as 32 of these picks which allow teams that have lost free agents try and fill the void compensatory picks take place from the end of the third through the seventh round the value of the compensatory free agents gained or lost by each team is totaled and a team is awarded a maximum of four picks of equal value to the net loss of compensatory free agents got it over the years we've seen teams make the most of these picks dak prescott mike vrabel heinz ward larry allen brian dawkins and yes tom brady were all compensatory selections we got peak jets fan at the 1995 draft and the new york faithful won a defensive tackle warren sapp sapp is the man bring saf to new york they didn't get them the new york jets select tight end from penn state kyle brady this has to be the biggest mockery i've ever seen in my entire world we could create a branch down i would trade them right if you think kyle brady had it rough fast forward to 1999 where raucous eagles fans packed madison square garden awaiting the number two overall pick with the second pick the philadelphia eagles select donovan mcnabb quarterback syracuse university after the warm welcome donovan mcnabb went on to become the eagles all-time leading passer in 2000 the jets were in the headlines again as the only team in draft history with four first-round picks sean ellis john abraham chad pennington and anthony becht the drafts of the early 2000s were not kind to the minnesota vikings in 2002 after the chiefs and cowboys failed to get a deal done at number six the vikings weren't ready to jump in and make their pick they wanted defensive tackle ryan sims but as they turned their draft card in they were told the chiefs made sims their choice first kansas city has selected ryan sims the next year as the 15-minute clock ticked to its final seconds minnesota had yet to make a pick at number seven confusion about a potential trade with baltimore caused their time to run out and the vikes couldn't get their pick in until number nine turn your pick in it doesn't happen often but when a team fails to make a selection in its allotted time it can still make a pick afterwards unless the next team on the clock makes its selection first this happened in 2003 when the jags took byron leftwich with the seventh pick and the panthers drafted jordan gross at number eight both teams got their picks in faster than the vikings did in 2005 alex smith and aaron rodgers were undoubtedly the two best quarterbacks in the draft the only question was who would the 49ers take first overall when san francisco drafted smith the unthinkable happened another 22 picks would pass as aaron rodgers sat through the most gut-wrenching green room wait ever troy williamson mike williams jamal brown thomas davis travis johnson david erasmus james alex barron but like mourinho in 83 and randy moss in 98 the wait only ignited roger's future hall of fame career it's going to get there he turned 32 yesterday does he have a vintage moment in it in the end zone it is a game ender for the packers for the first time ever espn would have draft competitions starting in 2006. the nfl network was now a player nfl total access here at the 2006 nfl draft so pleased to be with you we may look back at 2010 as being the most influential year in draft history the very first nfl draft held in prime time there's no questioning its success in 2009 the first round averaged 6.3 million viewers that number jumped to 8.3 million in 2010 and a record 45.4 million total viewers throughout all seven rounds the rams took sam bradford number one overall and gave him the richest rookie contract in draft history six years 78 million dollars with 50 million guaranteed that was the last of the enormous rookie deals due to a new cba that set a rookie wage scale in 2011 cam newton received a four-year 22 million dollar contract after going number one overall and speaking of 2011 you can make a case for it as the best draft class since 1983. von miller aj green patrick peterson jj watt 31 pro bowlers a defensive player of the year nfl mvp two super bowl mvps and at least four locks for the hall of fame if we've seen one constant in the last decade it's the need for a premier quarterback 30 signal callers were selected in the first round throughout the 2010s the most of any decade from 2010 to 2019 seven of the ten number one overall picks were quarterbacks but which position group has the all-time lead you guessed it yes it's quarterback followed by running back with 21 and defensive end with 12 number one overall selections shy town is draft town in 2015 the draft moved into a new city for the first time in 50 years chicago beat out la in a bid to host and then would run it back again in 2016. the windy city has been home to the draft nine times third most behind philadelphia at 15 and new york city at 57. the location changes didn't stop in chicago the draft returned to philly in 2017 where ex-cowboy drew pearson set off a chain reaction of draft roasts this was incredible i want to thank the eagle fans for allowing me to have a career in the nfl hey dallas the last time you were in the super bowl oh these draft picks hello nashville i'm not going to say a single word about the tennessee titans record against the indianapolis colts because i was a punter and there's no reason for me to talk about that with that being said we did not punt much against the tennessee titans so you probably have no clue who i am to begin after dallas in 2018 600 000 fans showed up to watch in downtown nashville the draft has become visible in every way including the presentation of every pick i'm living and working on the international space station 250 miles above the earth marlon mack running back university of south florida look i'm not sure if this is what bert bell had in mind but it plays today in 2020 the coronavirus pandemic forced the leak to audible from its scheduled las vegas draft site and instead go virtual that's right history will remember that 2020 was the year roger goodell announced pics from his basement in the first ever virtual nfl draft this draft this year is a draft like no other it was an enormous success that 55 million combined viewers tuned in across all three days by far the most watched draft ever the league and all 32 teams coordinated more than 600 live video feeds showing war rooms prospects at home and fan reactions we got it all henry ruggs is swagging out in a row biggest star of the night undoubtedly bill belichick's dogs just enjoy the sheer pageantry of the tommy bahama shirt the most memorable draft ever so there you go that's it 85 years of draft history rival leagues blockbuster trades bear hugs grumpy jets fans the worst pick since it's last year it's always a blast and everybody we will see you in cleveland you

Channel: NFL Throwback

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Keywords: nfl, american football, nfl history, nfl highlights, nfl vault, nfl throwback

Id: Uin_eoSXzmY

Length: 25min 30sec (1530 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 21 2021

Reddit Comments

[u/ClayDrinion]

Great watch. Lol I can't believe Minnesota had the clock run out on them and had two teams consequently get their picks ahead of them