2011 NFL draft

The 2011 NFL Draft will be the 76th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft will be held at Radio City Music Hall over three days: this year, the first round is scheduled to take place on Thursday, April 28, 2011; the second and third rounds on Friday, April 29; and the final four rounds on Saturday, April 30, 2011.

Despite a current labor dispute between league owners and players over a new collective bargaining agreement, a provision in the current CBA ensures that this draft will still take place. However, barring a new CBA, teams will not be able to trade players for draft selections (trades involving only selections are permitted, however), and will not be able to sign or even contact undrafted players.

The Carolina Panthers, who had the worst record for the 2010 NFL season, will have the right to the first selection in a draft that features a record 56 underclassmen.

Early entrants
Players who are juniors or redshirt sophomores can forfeit their remaining NCAA eligibility and declare for the draft; the deadline to do so was January 15, 2011. A record 56 players announced their intentions to do so:

Draft order
The selection order for the first round of the 2011 Draft is given in the table below; non-playoff teams are ranked first by win-loss record and then by strength of schedule, while playoff teams are ranked by playoff progress, then win-loss record and strength of schedule. Where rankings are decided by strength of schedule, they cycle from round to round: for example, among the 6–10 teams, San Francisco will pick first in round one and last in round two, Tennessee will pick second in round one and first in round two, and so on. (Because the Giants and Buccaneers failed to make the playoffs, they will pick ahead of the 10–6 teams that did make the playoffs in every round.)

Bolded spots in each round reserved for playoff teams.

Trades
In the explanations below, (D) denotes trades that took place during the draft, while (PD) indicates trades completed pre-draft.

Round one

 * #17: Oakland → New England (PD). Oakland traded this selection to New England for defensive lineman Richard Seymour.

Round two

 * #33: Carolina → New England (PD). Carolina traded this selection to New England for a 2010 third-round selection (89th overall; Carolina selected Armanti Edwards).
 * #46: Miami → Denver (PD). Miami traded this selection and a 2010 second-round selection (43rd overall; traded to Baltimore, who selected Sergio Kindle) to Denver for wide receiver Brandon Marshall.
 * #61: New York Jets → San Diego (PD). The Jets traded this conditional selection to San Diego for cornerback Antonio Cromartie.

Round three

 * #72: Washington → New Orleans (PD). Washington traded this selection and a conditional 2012 sixth-round selection to New Orleans for offensive tackle Jammal Brown and a fifth-round selection.
 * #74: Minnesota → New England (PD). Minnesota traded this selection to New England for wide receiver Randy Moss and a 2012 seventh-round selection.
 * #89: Seattle → San Diego (PD). Seattle traded this selection and a 2010 second-round selection (40th overall; traded to Miami, who selected Koa Misi) to San Diego for quarterback Charlie Whitehurst and a 2010 second-round selection (60th overall; Seattle selected Golden Tate).

Round four

 * Washington → Philadelphia (PD). Washington traded this selection and a 2010 second-round selection (37th overall; Philadelphia selected Nate Allen) to Philadelphia for quarterback Donovan McNabb.
 * New Orleans → Jacksonville (PD). New Orleans traded this selection to Jacksonville for a 2010 fifth-round selection it acquired from Oakland (158th overall; New Orleans selected Matt Tennant).
 * San Diego → San Francisco (PD). San Diego traded this selection, a 2010 third-round selection (91st overall; San Francisco selected Navorro Bowman), and a 2010 sixth-round selection it acquired from Miami (173rd overall; San Francisco selected Anthony Dixon) to San Francisco for a 2010 third-round selection (79th overall; San Diego selected Donald Butler).
 * Denver → New England (PD). Denver traded this selection to New England for a sixth-round selection and running back Laurence Maroney.
 * New England → Seattle (PD). New England traded this selection it acquired from Denver to Seattle for wide receiver Deion Branch.
 * Seattle → Buffalo (PD). Seattle traded this selection and a conditional 2012 selection to Buffalo for running back Marshawn Lynch.

Round five

 * Denver → Tampa Bay (PD). Denver traded this selection to Tampa Bay for a 2010 seventh-round selection it acquired from Pittsburgh (225th overall; Denver selected Syd'Quan Thompson) and a 2010 seventh-round selection it acquired from Baltimore (232nd overall; Denver selected Jammie Kirlew).
 * San Diego → Philadelphia (PD). San Diego traded this selection and a 2010 fifth-round selection (159th overall; Philadelphia selected Riley Cooper) to Philadelphia for a 2010 fifth-round selection it acquired from Cleveland (146th overall; San Diego selected Cam Thomas).
 * New Orleans → Washington (PD). New Orleans traded this selection and offensive tackle Jammal Brown to Washington for a third-round selection and a conditional 2012 sixth-round selection.
 * Baltimore → Seattle (PD). Baltimore this conditional selection to Seattle for cornerback Josh Wilson.
 * New York Giants → Minnesota (PD). The New York Giants traded this selection and a conditional 2012 selection to Minnesota for running back Darius Reynaud and quarterback Sage Rosenfels.
 * Detroit and Kansas City swapped selections as a penalty for Detroit tampering.

Round six

 * Denver → Cleveland (PD). Denver traded this selection, a conditional 2012 selection, and running back Peyton Hillis to Cleveland for quarterback Brady Quinn.
 * New Orleans → New England (PD). New Orleans traded this selection to New England for tight end David Thomas.
 * Philadelphia → Detroit (PD). Philadelphia traded this selection to Detroit for a 2010 seventh-round selection it acquired from Denver (220th overall; Philadelphia selected Jamar Chaney).
 * Tampa Bay → Philadelphia (PD). Tampa Bay traded this selection to Philadelphia for wide receiver Reggie Brown.
 * Seattle → San Francisco (PD). Seattle traded this selection to San Francisco for defensive lineman Kentwan Balmer.
 * Detroit → Seattle (PD). Detroit traded this selection to Seattle for defensive end Lawrence Jackson.
 * Philadelphia → Arizona (PD). Philadelphia traded this selection to Arizona for guard Reggie Wells.
 * New England → Denver (PD). New England traded this selection it acquired from New Orleans and running back Laurence Maroney to Denver for a fourth-round selection.

Round seven

 * Arizona → New York Jets (PD). Arizona traded this selection and a 2010 fourth-round selection (124th overall; traded to Carolina, who selected Eric Norwood) to the New York Jets for safety Kerry Rhodes.
 * Carolina → Green Bay (PD). Carolina traded this conditional selection to Green Bay for long snapper J. J. Jansen.
 * Cleveland → Seattle (PD). Cleveland traded this conditional selection to Seattle for quarterback Seneca Wallace.
 * Detroit → San Francisco (PD). Detroit traded this selection to San Francisco for quarterback Shaun Hill.
 * Detroit → Atlanta (PD). Detroit traded this conditional selection and a 2010 sixth-round selection (171st overall; Atlanta selected Shann Schillinger) to Atlanta for cornerback Chris Houston.
 * Jacksonville → Miami. Jacksonville traded this conditional selection to Miami for guard Justin Smiley.
 * New York Jets → Detroit (PD). The New York Jets traded this selection to Detroit for quarterback Kevin O'Connell.
 * New England → Atlanta (PD). New England traded this selection to Atlanta for offensive lineman Quinn Ojinnaka.
 * San Diego → Dallas (PD). San Diego traded this conditional selection to Dallas for wide receiver Patrick Crayton.
 * Philadelphia → Baltimore (PD). Philadelphia traded this selection to Baltimore for defensive end Antwan Barnes.
 * Seattle → Philadelphia (PD). Seattle traded this selection to Philadelphia for offensive lineman Stacy Andrews.
 * Green Bay → Jacksonville (PD). Green Bay traded this conditional selection to Jacksonville for safety Anthony Smith.
 * Detroit forfeited their selection as a penalty for tampering.

Undetermined

 * Indianapolis → Washington (PD). Indianapolis traded this selection to Washington for cornerback Justin Tryon.
 * Cincinnati → Jacksonville (PD). Cincinnati traded this conditional selection and cornerback David Jones to Jacksonville for safety Reggie Nelson.
 * St. Louis → Baltimore (PD). St. Louis traded this selection to Baltimore for an undisclosed selection and wide receiver Mark Clayton.
 * Tampa Bay → Kansas City (PD). Tampa Bay traded this selection to Kansas City for an undisclosed selection and defensive tackle Alex Magee.

Supplemental Draft

 * Chicago used its seventh round draft pick to select RB Harvey Unga.
 * Dallas used its seventh round draft pick to select DT Josh Brent.