1997 NFL Draft

1997 NFL Draft
	General Information
Date(s)	April 19–20, 1997
Location
	Picks
First selection	Orlando Pace, OT; St. Louis Rams
Mr. Irrelevant	Ronnie McAda, QB; Green Bay Packers
Most selections
Fewest selections
Overall selections	253
< 1996	1998 >

The 1997 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 19–20, 1997. No teams elected to claim any players in the supplemental draft that year.

This draft was notable for its high-profile offensive linemen. The first overall selection was Orlando Pace, who has appeared in seven consecutive Pro Bowls from 2000 to 2006. Defensive End Peter Boulware was picked 4th overall in the draft, and finished his career with a Baltimore Ravens team record 70 sacks. Walter Jones was taken 6th overall, and has made 9 Pro Bowls, including seven consecutive from 2001 to 2007. Tarik Glenn was selected 19th overall and has been named to three Pro Bowls as well. Others include Chris Naeole, Dan Neil, Ryan Tucker, Jeff Mitchell, Mike Flynn, and Joe Andruzzi.

The '97 Draft is also well-known for its running backs. Warrick Dunn was drafted 12th overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and rushed for over 10,000 yards in his career. Corey Dillon, Tiki Barber, Antowain Smith, Priest Holmes, and Duce Staley all enjoyed productive seasons in the NFL.

This draft is also well-known for its undrafted Pro Bowl players. Jake Delhomme, Priest Holmes, and Pat Williams all made Pro-Bowl trips at some point in their careers.

Player selections[]

= Pro Bowler ^[1]

Round one[]

Pick #	NFL Team	Player	Position	College
1	St. Louis Rams ^{(from New York Jets)}	Orlando Pace	Offensive tackle	Ohio State
2	Oakland Raiders	Darrell Russell	Defensive tackle	USC
3	Seattle Seahawks ^{(from Atlanta Falcons for 1997 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th round picks)}	Shawn Springs	Defensive back	Ohio State
4	Baltimore Ravens	Peter Boulware	Linebacker	Florida State
5	Detroit Lions	Bryant Westbrook	Defensive back	Texas
6	Seattle Seahawks ^{(from St. Louis Rams via New York Jets and Tampa Bay Buccaneers)}	Walter Jones	Offensive tackle	Florida State
7	New York Giants	Ike Hilliard	Wide receiver	Florida
8	New York Jets^{(from Tampa Bay Buccaneers)}	James Farrior	Linebacker	Virginia
9	Arizona Cardinals	Tommy Knight	Defensive back	Iowa
10	New Orleans Saints	Chris Naeole	Guard	Colorado
11	Atlanta Falcons	Michael Booker	Defensive back	Nebraska
12	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Warrick Dunn	Running back	Florida State
13	Kansas City Chiefs	Tony Gonzalez	Tight end	California
14	Cincinnati Bengals	Reinard Wilson	Linebacker	Florida State
15	Miami Dolphins	Yatil Green	Wide receiver	Miami
16	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Reidel Anthony	Wide receiver	Florida
17	Washington Redskins	Kenard Lang	Defensive end	Miami
18	Tennessee Oilers	Kenny Holmes	Defensive end	Miami
19	Indianapolis Colts	Tarik Glenn	Offensive tackle	California
20	Minnesota Vikings	Dwayne Rudd	Linebacker	Alabama
21	Jacksonville Jaguars	Renaldo Wynn	Defensive tackle	Notre Dame
22	Dallas Cowboys	David LaFleur	Tight end	LSU
23	Buffalo Bills	Antowain Smith	Running back	Houston
24	Pittsburgh Steelers	Chad Scott	Defensive back	Maryland
25	Philadelphia Eagles	Jon Harris	Defensive end	Virginia
26	San Francisco 49ers	Jim Druckenmiller	Quarterback	Virginia Tech
27	Carolina Panthers	Rae Carruth	Wide receiver	Colorado
28	Denver Broncos	Trevor Pryce	Defensive lineman	Clemson
29	New England Patriots	Chris Canty	Defensive back	Kansas State
30	Green Bay Packers	Ross Verba	Offensive tackle	Iowa

Round two[]

Pick #	NFL Team	Player	Position	College
31	New York Jets	Rick Terry	Defensive tackle	North Carolina
32	Atlanta Falcons	Nathan Davis	Defensive end	Indiana
33	New Orleans Saints	Rob Kelly	Defensive back	Ohio State
34	Baltimore Ravens	Jamie Sharper	Linebacker	Virginia
35	Detroit Lions	Juan Roque	Offensive tackle	Arizona State
36	New York Giants	Tiki Barber	Running back	Virginia
37	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Jerry Wunsch	Offensive tackle	Wisconsin
38	Chicago Bears	John Allred	Tight end	USC
39	New Orleans Saints	Jared Tomich	Defensive end	Nebraska
40	St. Louis Rams	Dexter McCleon	Defensive back	Clemson
41	Atlanta Falcons	Byron Hanspard	Running back	Texas Tech
42	Arizona Cardinals	Jake Plummer	Quarterback	Arizona State
43	Cincinnati Bengals	Corey Dillon	Running back	Washington
44	Miami Dolphins	Sam Madison	Cornerback	Louisville
45	San Diego Chargers	Freddie Jones	Tight end	North Carolina
46	Tennessee Oilers	Joey Kent	Wide receiver	Tennessee
47	Kansas City Chiefs	Kevin Lockett	Wide receiver	Kansas State
48	Indianapolis Colts	Adam Meadows	Offensive tackle	Georgia
49	Minnesota Vikings	Torrian Gray	Free Safety	Virginia Tech
50	Jacksonville Jaguars	Mike Logan	Cornerback	West Virginia
51	Washington Redskins	Greg Jones	Linebacker	Colorado
52	Buffalo Bills	Marcellus Wiley	Defensive end	Columbia
53	Pittsburgh Steelers	Will Blackwell	Wide receiver	San Diego State
54	Detroit Lions	Kevin Abrams	Cornerback	Syracuse
55	San Francisco 49ers	Marc Edwards	Running back	Notre Dame
56	Carolina Panthers	Mike Minter	Free Safety	Nebraska
57	Philadelphia Eagles	James Darling	Linebacker	Washington State
58	Baltimore Ravens	Kim Herring	Free Safety	Penn State
59	New England Patriots	Brandon Mitchell	Defensive end	Texas A&M
60	Green Bay Packers	Darren Sharper	Defensive back	William & Mary

Round three[]

Pick #	NFL Team	Player	Position	College
61	New England Patriots	Sedrick Shaw	Running back	Iowa
62	New Orleans Saints	Troy Davis	Running back	Iowa State
63	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Frank Middleton	Guard	Arizona
64	Baltimore Ravens	Jay Graham	Running back	Tennessee
65	Dallas Cowboys	Dexter Coakley	Outside linebacker	Appalachian State
66	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Ronde Barber	Cornerback	Virginia
67	Denver Broncos	Dan Neil	Offensive guard	Texas
68	New York Giants	Ryan Phillips	Linebacker	Idaho
69	Chicago Bears	Bob Sapp	Offensive guard	Washington
70	Atlanta Falcons	O. J. Santiago	Tight end	Kent State
71	Philadelphia Eagles	Duce Staley	Running back	South Carolina
72	Oakland Raiders	Adam Treu	Offensive guard	Nebraska
73	Miami Dolphins	Jason Taylor	Defensive end	Akron
74	San Diego Chargers	Michael Hamilton	Linebacker	North Carolina A&T
75	Tennessee Oilers	Denard Walker	Cornerback	Kent State
76	Cincinnati Bengals	Rod Payne	Center	Michigan
77	San Francisco 49ers	Greg Clark	Tight end	Stanford
78	Minnesota Vikings	Stalin Colinet	Defensive end	Boston College
79	Jacksonville Jaguars	James Hamilton	Linebacker	North Carolina
80	Washington Redskins	Derek Smith	Outside linebacker	Arizona State
81	Tennessee Oilers	Scott Sanderson	Offensive tackle	Washington State
82	Pittsburgh Steelers	Paul Wiggins	Offensive tackle	Oregon
83	Dallas Cowboys	Steve Scifres	Offensive guard	Wyoming
84	Arizona Cardinals	Ty Howard	Cornerback	Ohio State
85	Oakland Raiders	Tim Kohn	Offensive guard	Iowa State
86	Indianapolis Colts	Bertrand Berry	Linebacker	Notre Dame
87	Carolina Panthers	Kinnon Tatum	Linebacker	Notre Dame
88	New York Jets	Dedric Ward	Wide receiver	Northern Iowa
89	New England Patriots	Chris Carter	Defensive back	Texas
90	Green Bay Packers	Brett Conway	Kicker	Penn State
91	Pittsburgh Steelers	Mike Vrabel	Defensive end	Ohio State
92	Miami Dolphins	Derrick Rodgers	Outside linebacker	Arizona State
93	Miami Dolphins	Ronnie Ward	Linebacker	Kansas
94	Dallas Cowboys	Kenny Wheaton	Defensive back	Oregon
95	New York Giants	Brad Maynard	Punter	Ball State
96	Miami Dolphins	Brent Smith	Offensive tackle	Mississippi State

Round four[]

Pick #	NFL Team	Player	Position	College
97	New England Patriots	Damon Denson	Offensive guard	Michigan
98	Tennessee Oilers	Derrick Mason	Wide receiver	Michigan State
99	New Orleans Saints	Danny Wuerffel ^[2]	Quarterback	Florida
100	Atlanta Falcons	Henri Crockett	Linebacker	Florida State
101	Dallas Cowboys	Antonio Anderson	Defensive tackle	Syracuse
102	New York Jets	Terry Day	Defensive end	Mississippi State
103	New York Giants	Pete Monty	Linebacker	Wisconsin
104	New York Jets	Leon Johnson	Running back	North Carolina
105	Chicago Bears	Darnell Autry	Running back	Northwestern
106	Arizona Cardinals	Chris Dishman	Offensive lineman	Nebraska
107	Tennessee Oilers	Pratt Lyons	Defensive Lineman	Troy State
108	Chicago Bears	Marcus Robinson	Wide receiver	South Carolina
109	San Diego Chargers	Raleigh Roundtree	Offensive lineman	South Carolina State
110	Kansas City Chiefs	Pat Barnes	Quarterback	California
111	Cincinnati Bengals	Tremain Mack	Defensive back	Miami
112	St. Louis Rams	Ryan Tucker	Offensive lineman	TCU
113	Minnesota Vikings	Antonio Banks	Defensive back	Virginia Tech
114	Jacksonville Jaguars	Seth Payne	Defensive Lineman	Cornell
115	Washington Redskins	Albert Connell	Wide receiver	Texas A&M
116	New Orleans Saints	Keith Poole	Wide receiver	Arizona State
117	Indianapolis Colts	Monty Montgomery	Defensive back	Houston
118	Baltimore Ravens	Tyrus McCloud	Linebacker	Louisville
119	Philadelphia Eagles	Damien Robinson	Defensive back	Iowa
120	Buffalo Bills	Jamie Nails	Offensive lineman	Florida A&M
121	Miami Dolphins	Jerome Daniels	Tackle	Northeastern
122	Carolina Panthers	Tarek Saleh	Linebacker	Wisconsin
123	Oakland Raiders	Chad Levitt	Running back	Cornell
124	Denver Broncos	Cory Gilliard	Defensive back	Ball State
125	New England Patriots	Ed Ellis	Tackle	Buffalo Bulls
126	Green Bay Packers	Jermaine Smith	Defensive tackle	Georgia
127	Dallas Cowboys	Macey Brooks	Wide receiver	James Madison
128	Tampa Bay Buccanneers	Alshermond Singleton	Linebacker	Temple
129	Dallas Cowboys	Nicky Sualua	Fullback	Ohio State
130	Detroit Lions	Matt Russell	Linebacker	Colorado

Round five[]

Pick #	NFL Team	Player	Position	College
131	New York Jets	Lamont Burns	Offensive lineman	East Carolina
132	Washington Redskins	Jamel Williams	Defensive back	Nebraska
133	Atlanta Falcons	Marcus Wimberly	Defensive back	Miami (FL)
134	Baltimore Ravens	Jeff Mitchell	Offensive lineman	Florida
135	Detroit Lions	Pete Chryplewicz	Tight end	Notre Dame
136	New York Giants	Sam Garnes	Defensive back	Cincinnati
137	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Patrick Hape	Tight end	Alabama
138	San Diego Chargers	Kenny Bynum	Running back	South Carolina State
139	Arizona Cardinals	Chad Carpenter	Wide receiver	Washington State
140	Washington Redskins	Keith Thibodeaux	Defensive back	Northwest Louisiana
141	Chicago Bears	Van Hiles	Defensive back	Kentucky
142	Seattle Seahawks	Eric Stokes	Defensive back	Nebraska
143	Tennessee Oilers	George McCullough	Defensive back	Baylor
144	Cincinnati Bengals	Andre Purvis	Defensive tackle	North Carolina
145	New York Jets	Raymond Austin	Defensive back	Tennessee
146	San Diego Chargers	Paul Bradford	Defensive back	Portland State
147	Jacksonville Jaguars	Damon Jones	Tight end	Southern Illinois
148	Washington Redskins	Twan Russell	Linebacker	Miami(FL)
149	Miami Dolphins	Barron Tanner	Defensive tackle	Oklahoma
150	Indianapolis Colts	Nate Jacquet	Wide receiver	San Diego State
151	Minnesota Vikings	Tony Williams	Defensive tackle	Memphis
152	Philadelphia Eagles	Ndukwe Kalu	Defensive end	Rice
153	Buffalo Bills	Sean Woodson	Defensive back	Jackson State
154	Pittsburgh Steelers	George Jones	Running back	San Diego State
155	Philadelphia Eagles	Luther Broughton	Tight end	Furman
156	Indianapolis Colts	Carl Powell	Defensive end	Louisville
157	Miami Dolphins	Nick Lopez	Defensive end	Texas Southern
158	St. Louis Rams	Taje Allen	Defensive back	Texas
159	New England Patriots	Vernon Crawford	Linebacker	Florida State
160	Green Bay Packers	Anthony Hicks	Linebacker	Middle Tennessee State
161	Detroit Lions	Duane Ashman	Defensive end	Virginia
162	Washington Redskins	Brad Badger	Guard	Stanford
163	Kansas City Chiefs	June Henley	Running back	Kansas

Round six[]

Pick #	NFL Team	Player	Position	College
164	New York Jets	Tim Scharf	Linebacker	Northwestern
165	New Orleans Saints	Nicky Savoie	Tight end	Louisiana State
166	Miami Dolphins	John Fiala	Linebacker	Washington
167	Baltimore Ravens	Steve Lee	Running back	Indiana
168	Detroit Lions	Tony Ramirez	Guard	Northern Colorado
169	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Al Harris	Cornerback	Texas A&M-Kingsville
170	Miami Dolphins	Brian Manning	Wide receiver	Stanford
171	New York Giants	Mike Cherry	Quarterback	Murray State
172	Oakland Raiders	Calvin Branch	Running back	Colorado State
173	Miami Dolphins	Mike Crawford	Linebacker	Nevada
174	Seattle Seahawks	Itula Mili	Tight end	Brigham Young
175	Arizona Cardinals	Rod Brown	Running back	North Carolina State
176	Cincinnati Bengals	Canute Curtis	Linebacker	West Virginia
177	Miami Dolphins	Ed Perry	Tight end	James Madison
178	San Diego Chargers	Daniel Palmer	Center	Air Force
179	St. Louis Rams	Muadianvita Kazadi	Linebacker	Tulsa
180	Atlanta Falcons	Calvin Collins	Center	Texas A&M
181	Tennessee Oilers	Dennis Stallings	Linebacker	Illinois
182	Indianapolis Colts	Scott Von der Ahe	Linebacker	Arizona State
183	Minnesota Vikings	Robert Tate	Wide receiver	Cincinnati
184	Jacksonville Jaguars	Daimon Shelton	Running back	Sacramento State
185	Buffalo Bills	Marcus Spriggs	Guard	Houston
186	Pittsburgh Steelers	Daryl Porter	Defensive back	Boston College
187	Dallas Cowboys	Lee Vaughn	Defensive back	Wyoming
188	Arizona Cardinals	Tony McCombs	Linebacker	Eastern Kentucky
189	Carolina Panthers	Matt Finkes	Defensive end	Ohio State
190	Philadelphia Eagles	Antwuan Wyatt	Wide receiver	Bethune-Cookman
191	New York Jets	Chuck Clements	Quarterback	Houston
192	New England Patriots	Tony Gaiter	Wide receiver	Miami (FL)
193	Oakland Raiders	Grady Jackson	Defensive tackle	Knoxville
194	Baltimore Ravens	Cornell Brown	Defensive end	Virginia Tech
195	Kansas City Chiefs	Isaac Byrd	Wide receiver	Kansas
196	Chicago Bears	Shawn Swayda	Defensive tackle	Arizona State
197	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Nigea Carter	Wide receiver	Michigan State
198	Philadelphia Eagles	Ed Jasper	Defensive tackle	Texas A&M
199	Pittsburgh Steelers	Rod Manuel	Defensive end	Oklahoma
200	Chicago Bears	Richard Hogans	Linebacker	Memphis
201	Chicago Bears	Ricky Parker	Defensive back	San Diego State

Round seven[]

Pick #	NFL Team	Player	Position	College
202	New York Jets	Steve Rosga	Defensive back	Colorado
203	Miami Dolphins	Hudhaifa Ismaeli	Defensive back	Northwestern
204	Atlanta Falcons	Tony Graziani	Quarterback	Oregon
205	Baltimore Ravens	Chris Ward	Defensive end	Kentucky
206	Detroit Lions	Terry Battle	Running back	Arizona State
207	Philadelphia Eagles	Koy Detmer	Quarterback	Colorado
208	New York Giants	Matt Keneley	Defensive tackle	USC
209	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Anthony DeGrate	Defensive tackle	Stephen F. Austin
210	Chicago Bears	Mike Miano	Defensive tackle	SW Missouri State
211	Seattle Seahawks	Carlos Jones	Defensive back	Miami (FL)
212	Arizona Cardinals	Mark Smith	Defensive end	Auburn
213	Green Bay Packers	Chris Miller	Wide receiver	USC
214	Kansas City Chiefs	Nathan Parks	Tackle	Stanford
215	St. Louis Rams	Cedric White	Defensive end	North Carolina A&T
216	Tennessee Oilers	Armon Williams	Linebacker	Arizona
217	Cincinnati Bengals	William Carr	Defensive tackle	Michigan
218	San Diego Chargers	Toran James	Linebacker	North Carolina A&T
219	Indianapolis Colts	Clarence Thompson	Defensive back	Knoxville
220	Minnesota Vikings	Artie Ulmer	Linebacker	Valdosta State
221	Jacksonville Jaguars	Jon Hesse	Linebacker	Nebraska
222	Atlanta Falcons	Chris Bayne	Defensive back	Fresno State
223	Pittsburgh Steelers	Mike Adams	Wide receiver	Texas
224	Dallas Cowboys	Omar Stoutmire	Defensive back	Fresno State
225	Philadelphia Eagles	Byron Capers	Defensive back	Florida State
226	Buffalo Bills	Pat Fitzgerald	Tight end	Texas
227	Philadelphia Eagles	Deauntae Brown	Defensive back	Central State (OH)
228	Carolina Panthers	Kris Mangum	Tight end	Mississippi
229	New York Jets	Jason Ferguson	Defensive tackle	Georgia
230	New England Patriots	Scott Rehberg	Tackle	Central Michigan
231	Green Bay Packers	Jerald Sowell	Running back	Tulane
232	Detroit Lions	Marcus Harris	Wide receiver	Wyoming
233	Chicago Bears	Marvin Thomas	Defensive end	Memphis
234	Baltimore Ravens	Wally Richardson	Quarterback	Penn State
235	Minnesota Vikings	Matthew Hatchette	Wide receiver	Langston
236	Baltimore Ravens	Ralph Staten	Linebacker	Alabama
237	San Diego Chargers	Tony Corbin	Quarterback	Sacramento State
238	Baltimore Ravens	Leland Taylor	Defensive tackle	Louisville
239	Detroit Lions	Richard Jordan	Linebacker	Missouri Southern
240 ^[3]	Green Bay Packers	Ronnie McAda	Quarterback	Army

= Pro Bowler ^[1]

Notable undrafted players[]

Original NFL Team	Player	Position	College
Baltimore Ravens	Priest Holmes	Running back	Texas
Baltimore Ravens	Mike Flynn	Center	Maine
Buffalo Bills	Pat Williams	Defensive tackle	Texas A&M
Green Bay Packers	Joe Andruzzi	Offensive lineman	Southern Connecticut St
Denver Broncos	Matt Lepsis	Offensive tackle	Colorado
New Orleans Saints	Sammy Knight	Defensive Back	USC
New Orleans Saints	Jake Delhomme	Quarterback	Louisiana-Lafayette
Seattle Seahawks	Jon Kitna	Quarterback	Central Washington
Detroit Lions	Travis Kirschke	Defensive End	UCLA

Hall of famers[]

None of the drafted players from the 1997 NFL Draft have been inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame.

References[]

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro-Bowl at any time in their career.
↑ Danny Wuerffel, 1996 Heisman Trophy winner ^{"1996 Heisman Trophy winner". http://www.heisman.com/winners/d-wuerffel96.html. Retrieved 2008-10-11.^{[dead link]}}
↑ This last selection is commonly referred to as Mr. Irrelevant.

External links[]

[Pro_Bowler_note-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro-Bowl at any time in their career.

[Heisman_note-2] Danny Wuerffel, 1996 Heisman Trophy winner ^{"1996 Heisman Trophy winner". http://www.heisman.com/winners/d-wuerffel96.html. Retrieved 2008-10-11.^{[dead link]}}

[Mr._Irrelevant_note-3] This last selection is commonly referred to as Mr. Irrelevant.

[1]

[2]

[3]