1972 NFL draft

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox sports draft The 1972 NFL draft was the 37th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft was held on February 1 and 2 at the Essex House in New York City, New York.^[1]^[2]

With the first overall pick of the draft, the Buffalo Bills selected defensive end Walt Patulski. Patulski would become viewed as a draft bust,^[3]^[4] after the Bills released him in 1976 — coincidentally replacing Patuski with second overall choice Sherman White of California. NFL historians have frequently described 1972 as one of the league's worst draft classes ever,^[5]^[6]^[7] especially regarding the failure of the majority of 1st round draftees, which has become viewed worse than other notably weak drafts like 2002 and 2009.^[8]^[6] Only seven of 26 first rounders made the Pro Bowl in their career, and the whole 1972 draft produced just two Hall of Fame members, one of whom, wide receiver Cliff Branch, was inducted posthumously. This was the fewest of any draft class since the 1959 draft, which had only Dick LeBeau enshrined in Canton.

Player selections

= Pro Bowler ^{[note 1]}

= Hall of Famer

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*	= compensatory selection
†	= Pro Bowler^{[note 1]}
‡	= Hall of Famer^{[note 2]}

Template:AmFootball position key modern

Round one

Round two

Round three

Round four

Round five

Round six

Round seven

Round eight

Round nine

Pick #	NFL team	Player	Position	College
209	Buffalo Bills	Steve Vogel	Linebacker	Boise State
210	Cincinnati Bengals	Stan Walters	Tackle	Syracuse
211	New York Giants	Ed Richardson	Running back	Southern
212	Houston Oilers	Willie Postler	Tackle	Montana
213	St. Louis Cardinals	Gene Macken	Center	South Dakota
214	Denver Broncos	Floyd Priester	Defensive back	Boston University
215	Baltimore Colts	Gary Hambell	Defensive tackle	Dayton
216	New Orleans Saints	Kent Branstetter	Defensive tackle	Houston
217	Pittsburgh Steelers	Don Kelley	Defensive back	Clemson
218	New York Jets	Jeff Ford	Defensive back	Georgia Tech
219	Chicago Bears	Larry Horton	Defensive end	Iowa
220	New England Patriots	Mike Kelson	Tackle	Arkansas
221	San Diego Chargers	Fran Schmitz	Defensive tackle	St. Norbert
222	Philadelphia Eagles	Pat Gibbs	Defensive back	Lamar University
223	Atlanta Falcons	Bill "Ray" Easterling	Defensive back	Richmond
224	Detroit Lions	Bill McClintock	Defensive back	Drake
225	Los Angeles Rams	Harry Howard	Defensive back	Ohio State
226	Cleveland Browns	Larry McKee	Guard	Arizona
227	San Francisco 49ers	Jerry Brown	Defensive back	Northwestern
228	Oakland Raiders	Dave Bigler	Running back	Morningside
229	Washington Redskins	Steve Boekholder	Defensive end	Drake
230	Cleveland Browns	Billy Lefear	Wide receiver	Henderson State
231	Kansas City Chiefs	Dave Taylor	Defensive tackle	Weber State
232	Minnesota Vikings	Charlie Goodrum	Guard	Florida A&M
233	Miami Dolphins	Greg Johnson	Defensive back	Wisconsin
234	Dallas Cowboys	Roy Bell	Running back	Oklahoma

Round ten

Pick #	NFL team	Player	Position	College
235	Buffalo Bills	Maurice Tyler	Defensive back	Morgan State
236	New York Giants	John Odom	Defensive back	Texas Tech
237	Cincinnati Bengals	Brian Foster	Defensive back	Colorado
238	St. Louis Cardinals	Eric Washington	Defensive back	Texas-El Paso
239	Denver Broncos	Richard Wilkins	Defensive end	Maryland State
240	Houston Oilers	Rhett Dawson	Wide receiver	Florida State
241	New Orleans Saints	Andy Kupp	Guard	Idaho
242	Green Bay Packers	Keith Wortman	Guard	Nebraska
243	Pittsburgh Steelers	Bob Brown	Defensive tackle	Tampa
244	New York Jets	Harley Turner	Defensive back	Tennessee-Chattanooga
245	New England Patriots	Mel Caraway	Defensive back	N.E. Oklahoma
246	San Diego Chargers	Lon Kolstad	Linebacker	Whitewater (Wis)
247	Chicago Bears	Jack Turnbull	Center	Oregon State
248	Philadelphia Eagles	John Bunting	Linebacker	North Carolina
249	Detroit Lions	Jim Teal	Linebacker	Purdue
250	St. Louis Cardinals	Mike Franks	Quarterback	Eastern New Mexico
251	Los Angeles Rams	Jim Massey	Defensive back	Linfield
252	San Francisco 49ers	Steve Williams	Defensive tackle	Western Carolina
253	Cleveland Browns	Hershal Mosier	Defensive tackle	N.W. Oklahoma
254	Oakland Raiders	Phillip Price	Defensive back	Idaho State
255	Washington Redskins	Mike Oldham	Wide receiver	Michigan
256	Baltimore Colts	Dave Shilling	Running back	Oregon State
257	Kansas City Chiefs	Rich Ruppert	Tackle	Hawaii
258	Minnesota Vikings	Willie Aldridge	Running back	South Carolina State
259	Houston Oilers	Jimmy Butler	Tight end	Tulsa
260	Dallas Cowboys	Richard Amman	Defensive tackle	Florida State

Round eleven

Pick #	NFL team	Player	Position	College
261	Cincinnati Bengals	Kent Pederson	Tight end	California-Santa Barbara
262	New York Giants	John Robertson	Defensive back	Kansas State
263	Denver Broncos	Larry Brunson	Wide receiver	Colorado
264	Houston Oilers	Ron Evans	Tackle	Baylor
265	St. Louis Cardinals	Ron Jones	Linebacker	Arkansas
266	Green Bay Packers	David Bailey	Wide receiver	Alabama
267	New Orleans Saints	Paul Dongieux	Linebacker	Mississippi
268	New York Jets	Robert Stevenson	Linebacker	Tennessee State
269	New England Patriots	Rodney Cason	Tackle	Angelo State
270	San Diego Chargers	John Turner	Tight end	Long Beach State
271	Buffalo Bills	Bill Light	Linebacker	Minnesota
272	Chicago Bears	Ed Wimberly	Defensive back	Jackson State
273	Pittsburgh Steelers	Joe Gilliam	Quarterback	Tennessee State
274	Philadelphia Eagles	Dennis Sweeney	Defensive end	Western Michigan
275	Atlanta Falcons	Jack Phillips	Wide receiver	Grambling
276	Detroit Lions	Bob Waldron	Defensive tackle	Tulane
277	Oakland Raiders	Joe Carroll	Linebacker	Pittsburgh
278	Cleveland Browns	Mel Long	Linebacker	Toledo
279	San Francisco 49ers	Tom Laputka	Defensive end	Southern Illinois
280	Los Angeles Rams	Albert Schmidt	Running back	Pittsburg State (KS)
281	Washington Redskins	Jeff Welch	Defensive back	Arkansas Tech
282	Baltimore Colts	Fred DeBernardi	Defensive end	Texas-El Paso
283	Kansas City Chiefs	Elbert Walker	Tackle	Wisconsin
284	Minnesota Vikings	Willie McKelton	Defensive back	Southern
285	Miami Dolphins	Ed Jenkins	Wide receiver	Holy Cross
286	Dallas Cowboys	Lonnie Leonard	Defensive end	North Carolina A&T

Round twelve

Pick #	NFL team	Player	Position	College
287	Buffalo Bills	Jeff Baker	Wide receiver	U.S. International
288	New York Giants	Jay Anderson	Defensive tackle	Mayville
289	Cincinnati Bengals	Frederick Wegis	Defensive back	Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo
290	Houston Oilers	Willie Rodgers	Running back	Kentucky State
291	St. Louis Cardinals	Tommy Gay	Defensive tackle	Arkansas AM&N
292	Denver Broncos	Randy McDougall	Defensive back	Weber State
293	New Orleans Saints	Steve Lockhart	Tight end	Arkansas State
294	Green Bay Packers	Mike Rich	Running back	Florida
295	San Diego Chargers	Sam Key	Linebacker	Elon
296	New England Patriots	Steve Booras	Defensive end	Mesa Jr. College
297	Chicago Bears	Doug Neill	Running back	Texas A&M
298	Pittsburgh Steelers	Ron Curl	Tackle	Michigan State
299	New York Jets	John Bjorklund	Running back	Princeton
300	Philadelphia Eagles	Don Zimmerman	Wide receiver	N.E. Louisiana
301	Detroit Lions	Paul Bradley	Wide receiver	Southern Methodist
302	Atlanta Falcons	Larry Mialik	Tight end	Wisconsin
303	Los Angeles Rams	David Hoot	Defensive back	Texas A&M
304	San Francisco 49ers	Steve Setzler	Defensive end	St. John's
305	Cleveland Browns	Bernard Chapman	Defensive back	Texas-El Paso
306	Oakland Raiders	Kent Gaydos	Tight end	Florida State
307	Washington Redskins	Don Bunce	Quarterback	Stanford
308	Baltimore Colts	Gary Theiler	Tight end	Tennessee
309	Kansas City Chiefs	Mike Williams	Defensive tackle	Oregon
310	Minnesota Vikings	Bob Banaugh	Defensive back	Montana State
311	Miami Dolphins	Ashley Bell	Tight end	Purdue
312	Dallas Cowboys	Jimmy Harris	Wide receiver	Ohio State

Round thirteen

Pick #	NFL team	Player	Position	College
313	Buffalo Bills	Ed Moss	Running back	Southeast Missouri State
314	Cincinnati Bengals	James Hamilton	Quarterback	Arkansas State
315	New York Giants	Chuck Heard	Defensive end	Georgia
316	St. Louis Cardinals	Tom Campana	Defensive back	Ohio State
317	Denver Broncos	Bob Warner	Running back	Bloomsburg (PA)
318	Houston Oilers	Willie Roberts	Defensive back	Houston
319	Green Bay Packers	Jesse Lakes	Running back	Central Michigan
320	New Orleans Saints	Cephus Weatherspoon	Wide receiver	Fort Lewis
321	San Diego Chargers	Andy Selfridge	Linebacker	Virginia
322	Chicago Bears	Jay Rood	Tackle	Southern (S.D.)
323	Pittsburgh Steelers	Ernie Mesmer	Tackle	Villanova
324	New York Jets	Steve Sullivan	Tackle	North Texas State
325	New England Patriots	Sam Elmore	Defensive back	Eastern Michigan
326	Philadelphia Eagles	Preston Carpenter	Defensive end	Mississippi
327	Atlanta Falcons	Henry Sovio	Tight end	Hawaii
328	Detroit Lions	John Kirschner	Tight end	Memphis State
329	Los Angeles Rams	Jaime Nunez	Kicker	Weber State
330	Cleveland Browns	Brian Sipe	Quarterback	San Diego State
331	San Francisco 49ers	Leon Pettigrew	Tackle	San Fernando Valley
332	Washington Redskins	Frank Grant	Wide receiver	Southern Colorado
333	Oakland Raiders	Ted Covington	Wide receiver	San Fernando Valley
334	Baltimore Colts	Herb Washington	Wide receiver	Michigan State
335	Kansas City Chiefs	Tyler Hellams	Defensive back	South Carolina
336	Minnesota Vikings	Franklin Roberts	Running back	Alcorn A&M
337	Miami Dolphins	Archie Robinson	Defensive back	Hillsdale
338	Dallas Cowboys	Jean Fugett	Tight end	Amherst

Round fourteen

Pick #	NFL team	Player	Position	College
339	New York Giants	James Evans	Linebacker	South Carolina State
340	Buffalo Bills	Karl Salb	Defensive tackle	Kansas
341	Cincinnati Bengals	Steve Porter	Wide receiver	Indiana
342	Denver Broncos	Jerome Kundich	Guard	Texas-El Paso
343	Houston Oilers	Gary Crockett	Center	Lamar
344	St. Louis Cardinals	Pat McTeer	Kicker	New Mexico State
345	New Orleans Saints	Steve Barrios	Wide receiver	Tulane
346	Green Bay Packers	Larry Hefner	Linebacker	Clemson
347	Chicago Bears	Bob Brown	Wide receiver	Rice
348	Pittsburgh Steelers	Tom Durrance	Running back	Florida
349	New York Jets	Louis Age	Guard	Southwestern Louisiana
350	New England Patriots	Ed Rideout	Wide receiver	Boston College
351	San Diego Chargers	John Van Reenen	Defensive end	Washington State
352	Philadelphia Eagles	Bill Overmyer	Linebacker	Ashland
353	Detroit Lions	Eric Kelley	Tackle	Whitworth
354	Atlanta Falcons	Tom Chandler	Linebacker	Minnesota
355	Los Angeles Rams	Larry Brooks	Defensive end	Virginia State
356	San Francisco 49ers	Eric Guthrie	Quarterback	Boise State
357	Cleveland Browns	Ed Stewart	Guard	East Central Oklahoma
358	Oakland Raiders	Dennis Cambal	Running back	William & Mary
359	Baltimore Colts	John Morris	Center	Missouri Valley
360	Kansas City Chiefs	David Chaney	Linebacker	San Jose State
361	Minnesota Vikings	Marv Owens	Running back	San Diego State
362	Miami Dolphins	Willie Jones	Linebacker	Tampa
363	Dallas Cowboys	Alan Thompson	Running back	Wisconsin
364	Washington Redskins	Mike O'Quinn	Guard	McNeese State

Round fifteen

Pick #	NFL team	Player	Position	College
365	Oakland Raiders	Charles Hester	Running back	Central State (OH)
366	Cincinnati Bengals	Hosea Minnieweather	Defensive tackle	Jackson State
367	New York Giants	Ken Kavanaugh Jr.	Tight end	LSU
368	Pittsburgh Steelers	John Hulecki	Guard	Massachusetts
369	St. Louis Cardinals	Mark Herman	Tight end	Yankton
370	Denver Broncos	Harold Parmenter	Defensive tackle	Massachusetts
371	Green Bay Packers	Rick Thone	Wide receiver	Arkansas Tech
372	New Orleans Saints	Rusty Lachaussee	Quarterback	Tulane
373	Pittsburgh Steelers	Charles Harrington	Guard	Wichita State
374	New York Jets	Phil Sullivan	Defensive back	Georgia
375	New England Patriots	Joel Klime	Tight end	Pittsburgh
376	San Diego Chargers	Charles Neugent	Defensive back	Tuskegee
377	Chicago Bears	Roger Lawson	Running back	Western Michigan
378	Philadelphia Eagles	Tom Sullivan	Running back	Miami (FL)
379	Atlanta Falcons	Oscar Jenkins	Defensive back	Virginia Union
380	Detroit Lions	Steve Roach	Linebacker	Kansas
381	Los Angeles Rams	Kenny Page	Linebacker	Kansas
382	Cleveland Browns	Jewel McCullar	Linebacker	Chico State
383	San Francisco 49ers	Bob Maddox	Defensive end	Frostburg State (MD)
384	Oakland Raiders	Dave Snesrud	Linebacker	Hamline
385	Washington Redskins	Carl Taibi	Defensive end	Colorado
386	Baltimore Colts	Robin Parkhouse	Linebacker	Alabama
387	Kansas City Chiefs	Larry Marshall	Running back	Maryland
388	Minnesota Vikings	Mike Sivert	Guard	East Tennessee State
389	Miami Dolphins	Bill Davis	Defensive tackle	William & Mary
390	Dallas Cowboys	Carlos Alvarez	Wide receiver	Florida

Round sixteen

Pick #	NFL team	Player	Position	College
391	Buffalo Bills	Brian Linstrom	Quarterback	Arizona
392	New York Giants	Neovia Greyer	Defensive back	Wisconsin
393	Cincinnati Bengals	John Wiegman	Wide receiver	Cal Poly-Pomona
394	St. Louis Cardinals	Henry Alford	Defensive end	Pittsburgh
395	Denver Broncos	Tom Bougus	Running back	Boston College
396	Houston Oilers	Guy Murdock	Center	Michigan
397	New Orleans Saints	Joe Balthrop	Guard	Tennessee
398	Green Bay Packers	Charles Burrell	Defensive tackle	Arkansas AM&N
399	New York Jets	Gary Kipfmiller	Center	Nebraska-Omaha
400	New England Patriots	Eric Dahl	Defensive back	San Jose State
401	San Diego Chargers	James Shaw	Defensive back	Tulsa
402	Chicago Bears	Bill McKinney	Linebacker	West Texas State
403	Pittsburgh Steelers	Nate Hawkins	Wide receiver	Nevada-Las Vegas
404	Philadelphia Eagles	Steve Bielenberg	Linebacker	Oregon State
405	Detroit Lions	Leon Jenkins	Defensive back	West Virginia
406	Atlanta Falcons	Larry Butler	Linebacker	Stanford
407	Los Angeles Rams	Jim Kirby	Wide receiver	Long Beach State
408	San Francisco 49ers	Ron Davis	Guard	Virginia State
409	Cleveland Browns	Richard Wakefield	Wide receiver	Ohio State
410	Oakland Raiders	Willie Wright	Tight end	North Carolina A&T
411	Washington Redskins	Steve Higginbottom	Defensive back	Alabama
412	Baltimore Colts	Gary Wichard	Quarterback	C.W. Post
413	Kansas City Chiefs	Bob Johnson	Defensive end	Hanover (Ind)
414	Minnesota Vikings	Neil Graff	Quarterback	Wisconsin
415	Miami Dolphins	Al Hannah	Wide receiver	Wisconsin
416	Dallas Cowboys	Gordon Longmire	Quarterback	Utah

Round seventeen

Pick #	NFL team	Player	Position	College
417	Buffalo Bills	John Shelly	Defensive back	Oklahoma
418	Cincinnati Bengals	David Green	Punter	Ohio
419	New York Giants	John Seyferth	Running back	Michigan
420	Denver Broncos	Lou Harris	Running back	USC
421	Houston Oilers	Kelly Cochrane	Quarterback	Miami (FL)
422	St. Louis Cardinals	Kent Carter	Linebacker	USC
423	San Diego Chargers	Oscar Dragon	Running back	Arizona State
424	New England Patriots	Dick Graham	Wide receiver	Oklahoma State
425	New England Patriots	Junior Ah You	Linebacker	Arizona State
426	San Diego Chargers	Bob Tackett	Tackle	Texas-El Paso
427	Chicago Bears	LaVerne Dickinson	Defensive back	Southern
428	Pittsburgh Steelers	Ron Linehan	Linebacker	Idaho
429	New York Jets	Ken Gamble	Kicker	Fayetteville
430	Philadelphia Eagles	Tom Nash	Tackle	Georgia
431	Atlanta Falcons	Bill Holland	Running back	USC
432	Detroit Lions	Mike Tyler	Defensive back	Rice
433	Los Angeles Rams	Luther Palmer	Tight end	Virginia Union
434	Cleveland Browns	William Portz	Running back	Sterling (KS)
435	San Francisco 49ers	Ted Alexander	Running back	Langston
436	Los Angeles Rams	John McKean	Center	Oregon
437	Washington Redskins	Kevin Clemente	Linebacker	Boston College
438	Baltimore Colts	Stan White	Linebacker	Ohio State
439	Kansas City Chiefs	Ted Washington	Linebacker	Mississippi Valley
440	Minnesota Vikings	Dick Schmalz	Wide receiver	Auburn
441	Miami Dolphins	Vern Brown	Defensive back	Western Michigan
442^{[note 3]}	Dallas Cowboys	Alphonso Cain	Defensive tackle	Bethune-Cookman

= Pro Bowler^{[note 1]}

= Hall of Famer

Hall of Famers

Franco Harris, running back from Penn State, taken 1st round 13th overall by Pittsburgh Steelers

Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1990.^[9]

Cliff Branch, wide receiver from Colorado, taken 4th round 98th overall by Oakland Raiders

Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2022 (posthumous).

Notable undrafted players

^†	= Pro Bowler^{[note 1]}

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Notes

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References

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External links

Template:NFL drafts Template:1972 NFL season by team

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[9]

1972 NFL draft

Contents

Player selections

Round one

Round two

Round three

Round four

Round five

Round six

Round seven

Round eight

Round nine

Round ten

Round eleven

Round twelve

Round thirteen

Round fourteen

Round fifteen

Round sixteen

Round seventeen

Hall of Famers

Notable undrafted players

Notes

References

External links

Navigation menu

1972 NFL draft

Player selections

Round one

Round two

Round three

Round four

Round five

Round six

Round seven

Round eight

Round nine

Round ten

Round eleven

Round twelve

Round thirteen

Round fourteen

Round fifteen

Round sixteen

Round seventeen

Hall of Famers

Notable undrafted players

Notes

References

External links

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