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| 1996 NFL Draft | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| General Information | |||
| Date(s) | April 20–21, 1996 | ||
| Location | Madison Square Garden, New York City | ||
| Picks | |||
| First selection | Keyshawn Johnson, WR New York Jets | ||
| Mr. Irrelevant | Sam Manuel, LB San Francisco 49ers | ||
| Most selections | New England Patriots (13) | ||
| Fewest selections | Detroit Lions (5) | ||
| Overall selections | 254 | ||
NFL Draft
| |||
The 1996 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 20–21, 1996. No teams elected to claim any players in the supplemental draft that year.
This draft is considered one of the best draft classes ever for the position of wide receiver. Keyshawn Johnson, Terry Glenn, Eddie Kennison, Marvin Harrison, Eric Moulds, Bobby Engram, Terrell Owens, Muhsin Muhammad, Amani Toomer, Jermaine Lewis, and Joe Horn have all achieved success in the pros, with all except Kennison, Engram, and Toomer having reached the Pro Bowl at least once, and a total of 26 Pro Bowl appearances for the group. In addition to the class having had several successful receivers, none of the five wide receivers drafted in the first round have been busts, as all of them are currently or have recently been starters in the NFL (Keyshawn Johnson retired in 2007). Combined, 1996 wide receivers (through the end of the 2006 season) have totalled 7,646 receptions for 105,866 yards, eclipsing any other class by more than 1,000 receptions and 10,000 yards [1].
It was also one of the best draft years for middle linebackers, with two potential hall of famers in Ray Lewis and Zach Thomas selected. Lewis won Super Bowl XXXV and was selected MVP of that game, as well as making 12 Pro Bowls while Thomas has made 7. Other linebackers who made at least one Pro Bowl from this draft are Tedy Bruschi, Kevin Hardy, John Mobley, and Donnie Edwards. The following have enjoyed solid careers: Randall Godfrey, Earl Holmes, and Carlos Emmons.
On draft day, the St. Louis Rams traded running back Jerome Bettis and a third round draft pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for a second round pick for that year, as well as a fourth round pick the following year. The trade was made immediately after the Rams drafted Nebraska running back Lawrence Phillips. Bettis went on to have a successful career with the Steelers as well as being one of the team's most popular players, while the Rams wouldn't have another feature back until they traded for Marshall Faulk three years later due to Phillips' off-field problems.
Player selections
| = Pro Bowler [2] |
Round one
Round two
| Pick # | NFL Team | Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | New York Jets | Alex Van Dyke | Wide Receiver | Nevada |
| 32 | Arizona Cardinals | Leeland McElroy | Running Back | Texas A&M |
| 33 | Jacksonville Jaguars | Tony Brackens | Defensive End | Texas |
| 34 | New York Giants | Amani Toomer | Wide Receiver | Michigan |
| 35 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Mike Alstott | Fullback | Purdue |
| 36 | New England Patriots | Lawyer Milloy | Strong safety | Washington |
| 37 | Dallas Cowboys | Kavika Pittman | Defensive End | McNeese State |
| 38 | Houston Oilers | Bryant Mix | Defensive End | Alcorn State |
| 39 | Cincinnati Bengals | Marco Battaglia | Tight End | Rutgers |
| 40 | New Orleans Saints | Je'Rod Cherry | Strong Safety | California |
| 41 | San Diego Chargers | Bryan Still | Wide Receiver | Virginia Tech |
| 42 | St. Louis Rams | Tony Banks | Quarterback | Michigan State |
| 43 | Carolina Panthers | Muhsin Muhammad | Wide Receiver | Michigan State |
| 44 | Denver Broncos | Tory James | Cornerback | Louisiana State |
| 45 | Minnesota Vikings | James Manley | Defensive Tackle | Vanderbilt |
| 46 | San Francisco 49ers | Israel Ifeanyi | Defensive End | USC |
| 47 | Seattle Seahawks | Fred Thomas | Cornerback | Tennessee-Martin |
| 48 | Houston Oilers | Jason Layman | Tackle | Tennessee |
| 49 | Dallas Cowboys | Randall Godfrey | Linebacker | Georgia |
| 50 | San Diego Chargers | Patrick Sapp | Linebacker | Clemson |
| 51 | Indianapolis Colts | Dedric Mathis | Defensive back | Houston |
| 52 | Chicago Bears | Bobby Engram | Wide Receiver | Penn State |
| 53 | Buffalo Bills | Gabe Northern | Defensive End | Louisiana State |
| 54 | Philadelphia Eagles | Jason Dunn | Tight End | Eastern Kentucky |
| 55 | Baltimore Ravens | DeRon Jenkins | Cornerback | Tennessee |
| 56 | Green Bay Packers | Derrick Mayes | Wide Receiver | Notre Dame |
| 57 | Oakland Raiders | Lance Johnstone | Defensive End | Temple |
| 58 | Kansas City Chiefs | Reggie Tongue | Strong Safety | Oregon State |
| 59 | St. Louis Rams | Ernie Conwell | Tight End | Washington |
| 60 | Jacksonville Jaguars | Michael Cheever | Center | Georgia Tech |
| 61 | Philadelphia Eagles | Brian Dawkins | Free Safety | Clemson |
Round three
| Pick # | NFL Team | Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 62 | New York Jets | Ray Mickens | Cornerback | Texas A&M |
| 63 | Jacksonville Jaguars | Aaron Beasley | Cornerback | West Virginia |
| 64 | Arizona Cardinals | Johnny McWilliams | Tight End | USC |
| 65 | Denver Broncos | Detron Smith | Running Back | Texas A&M |
| 66 | New York Giants | Roman Oben | Tackle | Louisville |
| 67 | Dallas Cowboys | Clay Shiver | Center | Florida State |
| 68 | Kansas City Chiefs | John Browning | Defensive Tackle | West Virginia |
| 69 | Cincinnati Bengals | Ken Blackman | Guard | Illinois |
| 70 | New Orleans Saints | Brady Smith | Defensive End | Colorado State |
| 71 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Donnie Abraham | Cornerback | East Tennessee State |
| 72 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Steve Conley | Linebacker | Arkansas |
| 73 | Carolina Panthers | Winslow Oliver | Running Back | New Mexico |
| 74 | Houston Oilers | Terry Killens | Linebacker | Penn State |
| 75 | Minnesota Vikings | Moe Williams | Running Back | Kentucky |
| 76 | Detroit Lions | Ryan Stewart | Defensive Back | Georgia Tech |
| 77 | Seattle Seahawks | Robert Barr | Offensive Tackle | Rutgers |
| 78 | Denver Broncos | Mark Campbell | Defensive Tackle | Florida |
| 79 | Miami Dolphins | Dorian Brew | Defensive Back | Kansas |
| 80 | Miami Dolphins | Abdul-Karim al-Jabbar | Running Back | UCLA |
| 81 | San Diego Chargers | Brian Roche | Tight End | San Jose State |
| 82 | Indianapolis Colts | Scott Slutzker | Tight End | Iowa |
| 83 | St. Louis Rams | Jerald Moore | Running Back | Oklahoma |
| 84 | Atlanta Falcons | Shannon Brown | Defensive Tackle | Alabama |
| 85 | Philadelphia Eagles | Bobby Hoying | Quarterback | Ohio State |
| 86 | New England Patriots | Tedy Bruschi | Linebacker | Arizona |
| 87 | Buffalo Bills | Matt Stevens | Strong safety | Appalachian State |
| 88 | Carolina Panthers | J. C. Price | Defensive Tackle | Virginia Tech |
| 89 | San Francisco 49ers | Terrell Owens | Wide Receiver | Tennessee-Chattanooga |
| 90 | Green Bay Packers | Mike Flanagan | Center | UCLA |
| 91 | Seattle Seahawks | Reggie Brown | Running Back | Fresno State |
| 92 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Jon Witman | Fullback | Penn State |
| 93 | Green Bay Packers | Tyrone Williams | Defensive Back | Nebraska |
| 94 | Dallas Cowboys | Stepfret Williams | Wide Receiver | Louisiana-Monroe |
| 95 | Dallas Cowboys | Mike Ulufale | Defensive End | Brigham Young |
Round four
| Pick # | NFL Team | Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 96 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Jason Odom | Tackle | Florida |
| 97 | Minnesota Vikings | Hunter Goodwin | Guard | Texas A&M |
| 98 | Kansas City Chiefs | Donnie Edwards | Linebacker | UCLA |
| 99 | Seattle Seahawks | Phillip Daniels | Defensive end | Georgia |
| 100 | Denver Broncos | Jeff Lewis | Quarterback | Northern Arizona |
| 101 | New England Patriots | Heath Irwin | Guard | Colorado |
| 102 | Washington Redskins | Stephen Davis | Running back | Auburn |
| 103 | New Orleans Saints | Ricky Whittle | Running back | Oregon |
| 104 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Eric Austin | Defensive back | Jackson State |
| 105 | St. Louis Rams | Percell Gaskins | Linebacker | Kansas State |
| 106 | Carolina Panthers | Norberto Garrido | Guard | USC |
| 107 | Houston Oilers | Kendrick Burton | Defensive end | Alabama |
| 108 | Cincinnati Bengals | Jevon Langford | Defensive end | Oklahoma State |
| 109 | Houston Oilers | Jon Runyan | Tackle | Michigan |
| 110 | Jacksonville Jaguars | Reggie Barlow | Wide receiver | Alabama State |
| 111 | Carolina Panthers | Emmanuel McDaniel | Defensive back | East Carolina |
| 112 | Arizona Cardinals | Aaron Graham | Center | Nebraska |
| 113 | Miami Dolphins | Kirk Pointer | Defensive back | Austin Peay |
| 114 | San Diego Chargers | Charlie Jones | Wide receiver | Fresno State |
| 115 | Indianapolis Colts | Brian Milne | Running back | Penn State |
| 116 | Chicago Bears | Paul Grasmanis | Defensive tackle | Notre Dame |
| 117 | Atlanta Falcons | Richard Huntley | Running back | Winston-Salem State |
| 118 | Miami Dolphins | Stanley Pritchett | Running back | South Carolina |
| 119 | New England Patriots | Chris Sullivan | Defensive tackle | Boston College |
| 120 | Buffalo Bills | Sean Moran | Defensive end | Colorado State |
| 121 | Philadelphia Eagles | Ray Farmer | Defensive back | Duke |
| 122 | Denver Broncos | Darius Johnson | Defensive back | Oklahoma |
| 123 | Green Bay Packers | Chris Darkins | Running back | Minnesota |
| 124 | New England Patriots | Kantroy Barber | Running back | West Virginia |
| 125 | Miami Dolphins | LaCurtis Jones | Linebacker | Baylor |
| 126 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Earl Holmes | Linebacker | Florida A&M |
| 127 | Atlanta Falcons | Juran Bolden | Defensive back | Mississippi Delta |
| 128 | San Francisco 49ers | Daryl Price | Defensive end | Colorado |
| 129 | Detroit Lions | Brad Ford | Defensive back | Alabama |
| 130 | New York Giants | Danny Kanell | Quarterback | Florida State |
| 131 | Seattle Seahawks | Eric Unverzagt | Linebacker | Wisconsin |
| 132 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Jahine Arnold | Wide receiver | Fresno State |
Round five
| Pick # | NFL Team | Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 133 | New York Jets | Marcus Coleman | Defensive back | Texas Tech |
| 134 | Miami Dolphins | Jerris McPhail | Running back | East Carolina |
| 135 | Kansas City Chiefs | Joe Horn | Wide receiver | Itawamba J.C. |
| 136 | New Orleans Saints | Mercury Hayes | Wide receiver | Michigan |
| 137 | Arizona Cardinals | James Dexter | Tackle | South Carolina |
| 138 | Washington Redskins | Leomont Evans | Defensive back | Clemson |
| 139 | New England Patriots | John Elmore | Guard | Texas |
| 140 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Jason Maniecki | Defensive tackle | Wisconsin |
| 141 | St. Louis Rams | Fred Miller | Tackle | Baylor |
| 142 | Carolina Panthers | Marquette Smith | Running back | Central Florida |
| 143 | Houston Oilers | Rayna Stewart | Defensive back | Northern Arizona |
| 144 | Cincinnati Bengals | Greg Myers | Defensive back | Colorado State |
| 145 | New Orleans Saints | Tom Ackerman | Guard | Eastern Washington |
| 146 | Jacksonville Jaguars | Jimmy Herndon | Guard | Houston |
| 147 | Philadelphia Eagles | Whit Marshall | Linebacker | Georgia |
| 148 | Minnesota Vikings | Sean Boyd | Defensive back | North Carolina |
| 149 | New England Patriots | Christian Peter | Defensive tackle | Nebraska |
| 150 | Miami Dolphins | Shane Burton | Defensive tackle | Tennessee |
| 151 | Indianapolis Colts | Steve Martin | Defensive tackle | Missouri |
| 152 | Chicago Bears | Chris Villarrial | Guard | Indiana (PA) |
| 153 | Baltimore Ravens | Jermaine Lewis | Wide receiver | Maryland |
| 154 | Miami Dolphins | Zach Thomas | Linebacker | Texas Tech |
| 155 | San Diego Chargers | Junior Soli | Defensive tackle | Arkansas |
| 156 | Buffalo Bills | Ray Jackson | Defensive back | Colorado State |
| 157 | Dallas Cowboys | Kenneth McDaniel | Guard | Norfolk State |
| 158 | Detroit Lions | Kerwin Waldroup | Defensive tackle | Central State (OH) |
| 159 | Denver Broncos | Patrick Jeffers | Wide receiver | Virginia |
| 160 | San Francisco 49ers | Iheanyi Uwaezuoke | Wide receiver | California |
| 161 | Arizona Cardinals | Harry Stamps | Tackle | Oklahoma |
| 162 | Arizona Cardinals | Dell McGee | Defensive back | Auburn |
| 163 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Israel Raybon | Defensive end | North Alabama |
| 164 | Atlanta Falcons | Gary Bandy | Linebacker | Baylor |
| 165 | New Orleans Saints | Terry Guess | Wide receiver | Gardner-Webb |
| 166 | Oakland Raiders | La'Roi Glover | Defensive tackle | San Diego State |
| 167 | Dallas Cowboys | Alan Campos | Linebacker | Louisville |
Round six
| Pick # | NFL Team | Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 168 | New York Jets | Hugh Hunter | Defensive end | Hampton |
| 169 | Arizona Cardinals | Mike Foley | Defensive end | New Hampshire |
| 170 | Jacksonville Jaguars | John Fisher | Defensive back | Missouri Western |
| 171 | New York Giants | Doug Colman | Linebacker | Nebraska |
| 172 | Baltimore Ravens | Dexter Daniels | Linebacker | Florida |
| 173 | New England Patriots | Chris Griffin | Tight end | New Mexico |
| 174 | Washington Redskins | Kelvin Kinney | Defensive end | Virginia State |
| 175 | St. Louis Rams | Derrick Harris | Running back | Miami (FL) |
| 176 | Kansas City Chiefs | Dietrich Jells | Wide receiver | Pittsburgh |
| 177 | Houston Oilers | Anthony Dorsett | Defensive back | Pittsburgh |
| 178 | Cincinnati Bengals | Tom Tumulty | Linebacker | Pittsburgh |
| 179 | New Orleans Saints | Keno Hills | Tackle | Southwestern Louisiana |
| 180 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Nilo Silvan | Wide receiver | Tennessee |
| 181 | Denver Broncos | Tony Veland | Defensive back | Nebraska |
| 182 | New York Giants | Scott Galyon | Linebacker | Tennessee |
| 183 | Oakland Raiders | Tim Hall | Running back | Robert Morris |
| 184 | Seattle Seahawks | Reggie Green | Guard | Florida |
| 185 | Jacksonville Jaguars | Chris Doering | Wide receiver | Florida |
| 186 | Baltimore Ravens | James Roe | Wide receiver | Norfolk State |
| 187 | Chicago Bears | Jon Clark | Tackle | Temple |
| 188 | Atlanta Falcons | Craig Sauer | Linebacker | Minnesota |
| 189 | Miami Dolphins | Shawn Wooden | Defensive back | Notre Dame |
| 190 | San Diego Chargers | Jim Mills | Tackle | Idaho |
| 191 | Indianapolis Colts | Keith Conlin | Tackle | Penn State |
| 192 | San Diego Chargers | Bryan Stoltenberg | Center | Colorado |
| 193 | Carolina Panthers | Scott Greene | Running back | Michigan State |
| 194 | Philadelphia Eagles | Steve White | Defensive end | Tennessee |
| 195 | New England Patriots | Marrio Grier | Running back | Tennessee-Chattanooga |
| 196 | Buffalo Bills | Leon Neal | Running back | Washington |
| 197 | Philadelphia Eagles | Tony Johnson | Tight end | Alabama |
| 198 | San Francisco 49ers | Stephen Pitts | Running back | Penn State |
| 199 | Kansas City Chiefs | Philip Riley | Wide receiver | Florida State |
| 200 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Orpheus Roye | Defensive end | Florida State |
| 201 | St. Louis Rams | Hayward Clay | Tight end | Texas A&M |
| 202 | Buffalo Bills | Dusty Zeigler | Center | Notre Dame |
| 203 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Spence Fischer | Quarterback | Duke |
| 204 | New Orleans Saints | Toderick Malone | Wide receiver | Alabama |
| 205 | Indianapolis Colts | Mike Cawley | Quarterback | James Madison |
| 206 | New England Patriots | Devin Wyman | Defensive end | Kentucky State |
| 207 | Dallas Cowboys | Wendell Davis | Defensive back | Oklahoma |
| 208 | Green Bay Packers | Marco Rivera | Guard | Penn State |
| 209 | Seattle Seahawks | T. J. Cunningham | Defensive back | Colorado |
Round seven
| Pick # | NFL Team | Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 210 | New York Jets | Chris Hayes | Defensive back | Washington State |
| 211 | Kansas City Chiefs | Ben Lynch | Center | California |
| 212 | Arizona Cardinals | Jarius Hayes | Tight end | North Alabama |
| 213 | Denver Broncos | Leslie Ratliffe | Tackle | Tennessee |
| 214 | New York Giants | Conrad Hamilton | Defensive back | East New Mexico |
| 215 | Washington Redskins | Jeremy Asher | Linebacker | Oregon |
| 216 | New England Patriots | Lovett Purnell | Tight end | West Virginia |
| 217 | Carolina Panthers | Donnell Baker | Wide receiver | Southern |
| 218 | Houston Oilers | Mike Archie | Running back | Penn State |
| 219 | Cincinnati Bengals | Rod Jones | Tackle | Kansas |
| 220 | Oakland Raiders | Sedric Clark | Defensive end | Tulsa |
| 221 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Reggie Rusk | Defensive back | Kentucky |
| 222 | St. Louis Rams | Chuck Osborne | Defensive tackle | Arizona |
| 223 | Minnesota Vikings | Jon Merrill | Tackle | Duke |
| 224 | Oakland Raiders | Darius Smith | Center | Sam Houston State |
| 225 | Seattle Seahawks | Johnie Church | Defensive end | Florida |
| 226 | Denver Broncos | Chris Banks | Guard | Kansas |
| 227 | Jacksonville Jaguars | Clarence Jones | Wide receiver | Tennessee State |
| 228 | Jacksonville Jaguars | Gregory Spann | Wide receiver | Jackson State |
| 229 | Atlanta Falcons | Ethan Brooks | Defensive end | Williams |
| 230 | Miami Dolphins | Jeff Buckey | Guard | Stanford |
| 231 | San Diego Chargers | Freddie Bradley | Running back | Sonoma State |
| 232 | Indianapolis Colts | Adrian Robinson | Defensive back | Baylor |
| 233 | Chicago Bears | Marcus Keyes | Defensive tackle | North Alabama |
| 234 | Carolina Panthers | Kerry Hicks | Defensive tackle | Colorado |
| 235 | Denver Broncos | L. T. Levine | Running back | Kansas |
| 236 | Denver Broncos | Brian Gragert | Punter | Wyoming |
| 237 | Buffalo Bills | Dan Bradenburg | Defensive end | Indiana State |
| 238 | Baltimore Ravens | Jon Stark | Quarterback | Trinity |
| 239 | San Francisco 49ers | Sean Manuel | Tight end | New Mexico State |
| 240 | Green Bay Packers | Kyle Wachholtz | Quarterback | USC |
| 241 | Kansas City Chiefs | Jeff Smith | Center | Tennessee |
| 242 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Carlos Emmons | Linebacker | Arkansas State |
| 243 | Dallas Cowboys | Ryan Wood | Running back | Arizona State |
| 244 | Buffalo Bills | Jay Riemersma | Tight end | Michigan |
| 245 | Kansas City Chiefs | Darrell Williams | Defensive back | Tennessee State |
| 246 | New Orleans Saints | Henry Lusk | Tight end | Utah |
| 247 | New England Patriots | J. R. Conrad | Tackle | Oklahoma |
| 248 | Oakland Raiders | Joey Wylie | Guard | Stephen F. Austin |
| 249 | Buffalo Bills | Eric Smedley | Defensive back | Indiana |
| 250 | Washington Redskins | DeAndre Maxwell | Wide receiver | San Diego State |
| 251 | Miami Dolphins | Brice Hunter | Wide receiver | Georgia |
| 252 | Green Bay Packers | Keith McKenzie | Linebacker | Ball State |
| 253 | Chicago Bears | Michael Hicks | Running back | South Carolina State |
| 254 [4] | San Francisco 49ers | Sam Manuel | Linebacker | New Mexico State |
| = Pro Bowler [2] |
Notable undrafted players
| NFL Team | Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green Bay Packers | Joe Nedney | Kicker | San Jose State |
| New England Patriots | Ray Lucas | Quarterback | Rutgers |
| Philadelphia Eagles | Hollis Thomas | Defensive Tackle | Northern Illinois |
| New England Patriots | Adam Vinatieri | Kicker | South Dakota State |
Hall of famers
None of the drafted players from the 1996 NFL Draft have been inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame. However, many of the players drafted are expected to make it when they are eligible.
References
- ↑ Football Prospectus 2007, p. 461
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro-Bowl at any time in their career.
- ↑ Eddie George, 1995 Heisman Trophy winner "1995 Heisman Trophy winner". http://www.heisman.com/winners/e-george95.html. Retrieved 2008-10-11.[dead link]
- ↑ This last selection is commonly referred to as Mr. Irrelevant.
