1976 NFL draft

The 1976 NFL draft was an annual player selection meeting held April 8–9, 1976, at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City, New York.

The draft lasted 17 rounds, with the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks making the first two selections. The Buccaneers were awarded the first overall pick of the draft after winning a draw over the Seahawks, and used that pick to select defensive tackle Lee Roy Selmon. The expansion teams were also given a pair of extra picks at the end of each of rounds 2–5. The 1976 draft was the final NFL draft to last seventeen rounds; it was reduced to twelve rounds in 1977, and it was the first draft to officially have the infamous unofficial award, "Mr. Irrelevant", for the final player selected. Like 1974, the 1976 draft is generally regarded as one of the worst quarterback draft classes of all time. No quarterback from the 1976 draft class ever reached the Pro Bowl, an All-Pro team or a Super Bowl, and according to the estimate of Eldorado this quarterback class was the second-worst after 1996. Only first round pick Richard Todd, who led the New York Jets to their first postseason appearances since Super Bowl III in 1981 and 1982, was ever a regular starter.

Five teams lost picks as a penalty for illegally signing former World Football League players: the New York Giants and Chicago Bears lost sixth-round picks, the Washington Redskins lost their seventh-round pick, and the Atlanta Falcons and New York Jets lost their tenth-round selections.

The college draft was originally scheduled for February 3–4, 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 expansion draft. The court case delayed both the expansion draft and the annual college draft.

Player selections

= Pro Bowler

= Hall of Famer

Template:NFLDraft-TOC * = compensatory selection † = Pro Bowler ‡ = Hall of Famer

Round fifteen

Pick #	NFL team	Player	Position	College
404	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Bob Dzierzak	Defensive tackle	Utah State
405	Seattle Seahawks	Dan Smith	Tackle	Washington State
406	New Orleans Saints	Steve Seminoff	Defensive tackle	Wichita State
407	San Diego Chargers	Jack Hoffman	Defensive tackle	Indiana
408	Cleveland Browns	Luther Philyaw	Defensive back	Loyola (CA)
409	New England Patriots	Bernard Coleman	Wide receiver	Bethune-Cookman
410	New York Jets	Rick Faulk	Punter	San Francisco State
411	Chicago Bears	Jerry Meyers	Defensive tackle	Northern Illinois
412	Philadelphia Eagles	Brett White	Punter	UCLA
413	Green Bay Packers	Jerry Dandridge	Linebacker	Memphis State
414	Atlanta Falcons	Ron Olson	Defensive back	Washington
415	Kansas City Chiefs	Dave Rozumek	Linebacker	New Hampshire
416	San Francisco 49ers	Howard Stidham	Linebacker	Tennessee Tech
417	New York Giants	Eddie Morgan	Defensive tackle	Arkansas State
418	Denver Broncos	Wilbur Summers	Punter	Louisville
419	Detroit Lions	Trent Smock	Wide receiver	Indiana
420	St. Louis Cardinals	Lee Nelson	Defensive back	Florida State
421	Buffalo Bills	Arnold Robinson	Linebacker	Bethune-Cookman
422	Houston Oilers	Bobby Byars	Defensive back	Cheyney (PA)
423	Miami Dolphins	Ron Holmes	Running back	Utah State
424	Baltimore Colts	Gary Alexander	Tackle	Clemson
425	Cincinnati Bengals	Lynn Hieber	Quarterback	Indiana (PA)
426	Washington Redskins	John Monroe	Running back	Bluefield State
427	Oakland Raiders	Carl Hargrave	Defensive back	Upper Iowa
428	Minnesota Vikings	Ron Groce	Running back	Macalester
429	Los Angeles Rams	Malcolm Campbell	Wide receiver	Cal State-Los Angeles
430	Dallas Cowboys	Dale Curry	Linebacker	UCLA
431	Pittsburgh Steelers	Mel Davis	Defensive end	North Texas State

Round sixteen

Pick #	NFL team	Player	Position	College
432	Seattle Seahawks	Jeff Urczyk	Guard	Georgia Tech
433	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Tommy West	Linebacker	Tennessee
434	San Diego Chargers	Jack Harrison	Guard	California
435	New Orleans Saints	Gene Jones	Tackle	Bowling Green
436	New England Patriots	Clifford Brown	Defensive tackle	Tuskegee
437	New York Jets	James Godwin	Running back	Fayetteville
438	Cleveland Browns	Chris Lorenzen	Defensive tackle	Arizona State
439	Philadelphia Eagles	Steve Campassi	Running back	Kentucky
440	Green Bay Packers	Mike Timmermans	Guard	Northern Iowa
441	Atlanta Falcons	Pat Curto	Linebacker	Ohio State
442	Chicago Bears	Ronald Parker	Tight end	Texas Christian
443	San Francisco 49ers	Reggie Lewis	Defensive end	San Diego State
444	New York Giants	David Lawson	Kicker	Air Force
445	Kansas City Chiefs	Dennis Anderson	Punter	Arizona
446	Denver Broncos	John Huddleston	Linebacker	Utah
447	Detroit Lions	Craig McCurdy	Linebacker	William & Mary
448	Buffalo Bills	Gary Gorrell	Linebacker	Boise State
449	Baltimore Colts	Mike Fuhrman	Tight end	Memphis State
450	Miami Dolphins	Mike Green	Punter	Ohio
451	Baltimore Colts	Steve Ludwig	Center	Miami (FL)
452	Houston Oilers	Claude Johnson	Linebacker	Florida A&M
453	St. Louis Cardinals	Cecil Beaird	Wide receiver	Fisk
454	Oakland Raiders	Doug Hogan	Defensive back	USC
455	Cincinnati Bengals	George Demopoulis	Tackle	Miami (FL)
456	Los Angeles Rams	Rick Gage	Wide receiver	Arkansas Tech
457	Minnesota Vikings	Randy Hickel	Defensive back	Montana State
458	Dallas Cowboys	Rick Costanzo	Tackle	Nebraska
459	Pittsburgh Steelers	Randy Butts	Running back	Kearney State

Round seventeen

Pick #	NFL team	Player	Position	College
460	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Jack Berry	Quarterback	Washington & Lee
461	Seattle Seahawks	Chris Rowland	Quarterback	Washington
462	New Orleans Saints	Scott MacDonald	Tight end	West Virginia
463	San Diego Chargers	Clarence Sanders	Linebacker	Cincinnati
464	New York Jets	Darwin Willie	Tight end	Tulane
465	Cleveland Browns	Tom Fleming	Wide receiver	Dartmouth
466	New England Patriots	Todd Anderson	Center	Stanford
467	Green Bay Packers	Ray Hall	Tight end	Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo
468	Atlanta Falcons	Tony Green	Defensive back	Texas Tech
469	Chicago Bears	Mike Malham	Linebacker	Arkansas State
470	Philadelphia Eagles	Anthony Terry	Defensive back	California-Davis
471	New York Giants	Steve Curnutte	Defensive back	Vanderbilt
472	Kansas City Chiefs	Pat McNeil	Running back	Baylor
473	San Francisco 49ers	Darryl Jenkins	Running back	San Jose State
474	Denver Broncos	Randy Cozens	Defensive end	Pittsburgh
475	Detroit Lions	Jim Meeks	Defensive back	Boise State
476	Washington Redskins	Chuck Wills	Defensive back	Oregon
477	Buffalo Bills	Bob Berg	Kicker	New Mexico
478	Oakland Raiders	Buddy Tate	Defensive back	Tulsa
479	Houston Oilers	Allen Misher	Wide receiver	Louisiana State
480	Miami Dolphins	Jeff Grantz	Quarterback	South Carolina
481	Oakland Raiders	Nate Beasley	Running back	Delaware
482	Cincinnati Bengals	Scott Dannelley	Guard	Ohio State
483	St. Louis Cardinals	Dan Myers	Defensive back	Georgia Tech
484	Minnesota Vikings	Rich Lukowski	Defensive tackle	West Virginia
485	Los Angeles Rams	Gary Shaw	Defensive back	Brigham Young
486	Dallas Cowboys	Stan Woodfill	Kicker	Oregon
487	Pittsburgh Steelers	Kelvin Kirk	Wide receiver	Dayton

= Pro Bowler

= Hall of Famer

Notable undrafted players

†	= Pro Bowler

Hall of Famers

• Steve Largent, wide receiver from Tulsa, taken 4th round 117th overall by Houston Oilers

Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1995.

• Lee Roy Selmon, defensive end from Oklahoma, taken 1st round 1st overall by Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1995.

• Mike Haynes, cornerback from Arizona State, taken 1st round 5th overall by New England Patriots

Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1997.

• Jackie Slater, offensive tackle from Jackson State, taken 3rd round 86th overall by Los Angeles Rams

Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2001.

• Harry Carson, linebacker from South Carolina State, taken 4th round 105th overall by New York Giants

Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2006.

External links

• NFL.com – 1976 Draft Template:Webarchive
• Template:Usurped
• Pro Football Hall of Fame