The 1976 National Football League Expansion draft was held on March 30 – 31, 1976.[1] The expansion teams, the Seattle Seahawks and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, each selected 39 players from the other 26 NFL teams.[1] When one player was chosen from an existing team, that team was then permitted to protect two additional players.[1] The expansion teams continued until three players had been picked from each of the existing teams.[1]
The expansion draft was originally scheduled for January 23-24, but was postponed when the owners of the Seahawks and Buccaneers filed a lawsuit against the players' union with worries that the organization would try to prevent the draft. The court case delayed both the expansion draft and the annual college draft.[2]
Seattle Seahawk selections[]
Tampa Bay selections[]
| Player | Position | College | Original NFL Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Larry Ball | Linebacker | Louisville | Detroit Lions |
| Joe Blahak | Defensive Back | Nebraska | Minnesota Vikings |
| Bubba Bridges | Defensive Tackle | Colorado | Denver Broncos |
| Bubba Broussard | Linebacker | Houston | Chicago Bears |
| Louis Carter | Running Back | Maryland | Oakland Raiders |
| Steve Colavito | Linebacker | Wake Forest | Philadelphia Eagles |
| Mark Cotney | Defensive Back | Cameron State | Houston Oilers |
| Mike Current | Offensive Tackle | Ohio State | Denver Broncos |
| Anthony Davis | Running Back | USC | New York Jets |
| Ricky Davis | Defensive Back | Alabama | Miami Dolphins |
| Earl Douthitt | Defensive Back | Iowa | Chicago Bears |
| Bruce Elia | Linebacker | Ohio State | Miami Dolphins |
| Larry Ely | Linebacker | Iowa | Chicago Bears |
| Howard Fest | Offensive Guard | Texas | Cincinnati Bengals |
| Ira Gordon | Offensive Guard | Kansas State | San Diego Chargers |
| Jimmy Gunn | Linebacker | USC | New York Giants |
| Harold Hart | Running Back | Texas Southern | Oakland Raiders |
| Durwood Keeton | Defensive Back | Oklahoma | New England Patriots |
| Vince Kendrick | Running Back | Florida | Atlanta Falcons |
| Morris LaGrand | Running Back | Tampa | New Orleans Saints |
| Willie McGee | Wide Receiver | Alcorn State | Oakland Raiders |
| John (J.K.) McKay | Wide Receiver | USC | Cleveland Browns |
| Bob Moore | Tight End | Stanford | Oakland Raiders |
| Manfred Moore | Running Back | USC | San Francisco 49ers |
| Frank Oliver | Defensive Back | Kentucky State | Buffalo Bills |
| Dave Pear | Defensive Tackle | Washington | Baltimore Colts |
| Cal Peterson | Linebacker | UCLA | Dallas Cowboys |
| Dave Reavis | Offensive Tackle | Arkansas | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| Council Rudolph | Defensive End | Kentucky State | St. Louis Cardinals |
| Dan Ryczek | Center | Virginia | Washington Redskins |
| Barry Smith | Wide Receiver | Florida State | Green Bay Packers |
| Ken Stone | Defensive Back | Vanderbilt | Washington Redskins |
| Doug Swift | Linebacker | Amherst | Miami Dolphins |
| Dave Thompson | Offensive Tackle-Center | Clemson | New Orleans Saints |
| Pat Toomay | Defensive End | Vanderbilt | Buffalo Bills |
| John Ward | Center-Offensive Guard | Oklahoma State | Minnesota Vikings |
| Lawrence Williams | Wide Receiver | Texas Tech | Kansas City Chiefs |
| Dan Yochum | Offensive Tackle | Syracuse | Philadelphia Eagles |
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "1976 NFL Expansion Draft". Pro Football Hall of Fame. http://www.profootballhof.com/history/release.jsp?release_id=1284. Retrieved 2008-09-24.
- ↑ "Drafts delayed by Bucs". St. Petersburg Times. 14 January 1976. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=irwMAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Ql8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6249,3872201&dq=1976+expansion-draft.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||