2009 NFL draft

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox sports draft The 2009 NFL draft was the 74th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. The draft consisted of two rounds on the first day, starting at 4:00 pm EDT, and five rounds on the second day, starting at 10:00 am EDT. To compensate for the time change from the previous year and in an effort to help shorten the draft, teams were no longer on the clock for 15 minutes in the first round and 10 minutes in the second round. Each team now had 10 minutes to make their selection in the first round and seven minutes in the second round. Rounds three through seven were shortened to five minutes per team. This was the first year that the NFL used this format and it was changed again the following year for the 2010 NFL draft. The 2009 NFL draft was televised by both NFL Network and ESPN and was the first to have cheerleaders. The Detroit Lions, who became the first team in NFL history to finish a season at 0–16, used the first selection in the draft to select University of Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford.

It was the first draft since 1983 that saw two centers being selected in the first round—Alex Mack at No. 21 to the Browns, and Eric Wood at No. 28 to the Bills. It was also the first time since the 1993 draft that a Miami Hurricanes player was not selected in the first round. As of the end of the 2018 season, the 2009 draft has seen 11 of the 32 first-round selections make the Pro Bowl, and 27 (including three punters) in total for the entire class. It has been referred to as one of the worst drafts in league history. This was the first time that a Mr. Irrelevant went on to win a Super Bowl (Ryan Succop).

As of 2024, the only remaining active players in the NFL from the 2009 draft class are Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford and Jets punter Thomas Morstead.

Overview

The following is the breakdown of the 256 players selected by position:

36 Cornerbacks 34 Wide receivers 23 Defensive ends 23 Linebackers

21 Safeties 20 Defensive tackles 20 Offensive tackles 19 Running backs

20 Tight ends 13 Offensive guards 11 Quarterbacks 7 Centers

3 Punters 2 Fullbacks 2 Kickers 1 Long snapper

Player selections

Template:NFLDraft-TOC * = compensatory selection ^ = supplemental compensatory selection † = Pro Bowler

File:Matt Stafford Chase Young (50611111796) (cropped).jpg

First overall pick Matthew Stafford is the fastest quarterback to reach 40,000 passing yards in NFL history and led the Los Angeles Rams to a victory in Super Bowl LVI.

File:Brian Orakpo1.jpg

Linebacker Brian Orakpo, taken 13th overall, was a 4-time Pro Bowl selection.

File:Malcolm Jenkins.JPG

Cornerback Malcolm Jenkins, drafted 14th overall, won two Super Bowls with two different teams and was named to 3 Pro Bowls.

File:Clay Matthews - San Francisco vs Green Bay 2012.jpg

Linebacker Clay Matthews III, picked 26th overall, is a member of the Matthews family of football players and was one of the league's premier pass-rushers throughout his career.

File:Lesean mccoy 2014.jpg

Running back LeSean McCoy, drafted in the second round, is the Philadelphia Eagles' leader in career rushing yards, a 2-time All-Pro, a 6-time Pro Bowler, and 2-time Super Bowl champion.

File:CookJared2013-8.jpg

Tight end Jared Cook, drafted in the third round, is a two-time Pro Bowl selection.

File:Pat McAfee.JPG

Punter Pat McAfee, selected in the 7th round, was a 2-time Pro Bowl selection and All-Pro for the Indianapolis Colts.

File:Julian Edelman 2014.JPG

Slot receiver Julian Edelman, drafted in the seventh round, won three Super Bowls with the New England Patriots, and was selected as Super Bowl MVP of Super Bowl LIII.

Trades

File:Commissioner Goodell 2009 NFL Draft.jpg

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announcing a pick at the 2009 draft.

In the explanations below, (D) denotes trades that took place during the draft, while (PD) indicates trades completed pre-draft.

Round one

Round two

Round three

Round four

Round five

Round six

Round seven

Supplemental draft selections

One player was selected in the 2009 Supplemental Draft: Template:NFLDraft-header Template:NFLDraft-row

Notable undrafted players

†	= Pro Bowler

Selections by conference

Selection totals by college conference:

#	Conference	Players selected	Division
1	Southeastern Conference	37	I FBS
2	Atlantic Coast Conference	32	I FBS
2	Pac-10 Conference	32	I FBS
4	Big 12 Conference	28	I FBS
4	Big Ten Conference	28	I FBS
6	Big East Conference	27	I FBS
7	Mountain West Conference	16	I FBS
8	Conference USA	10	I FBS
8	Mid-American Conference	10	I FBS
8	Western Athletic Conference	10	I FBS
11	Southland Conference	4	I FCS
12	Lone Star Conference	4	II
13	Colonial Athletic Association	2	I FCS
13	Sun Belt Conference	2	I FBS
15	Big South Conference	1	I FCS
15	Big Sky Conference	1	I FCS
15	Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association	1	II
15	Great West Conference	1	I FCS
15	Independent	1	I FBS
15	Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference	1	I FCS
15	Missouri Valley Conference	1	I FCS
15	Ohio Valley Conference	1	I FCS
15	Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	1	II
15	Southern Conference	1	I FCS
15	Ontario University Athletics	1	CIS

Selections by position

Round	QB	RB	FB	WR	TE	C	OG	OT	DE	DT	LB	CB	S	K	P	LS
1st	3	3	0	6*	1	2	0	4	4	5	3	2	0	0	0	0
2nd	1	1	0	2	1	1	1	4	5	3	3	4	6*	0	0	0
3rd	0	2	0	7	3	1	2	1	2	5	3	9*	1	0	0	0
4th	1	3	1	4	2	1	2	3	6*	4	3	3	3	0	0	0
5th	2	2	1	4	4	0	3	5*	0	0	5*	5*	3	1	2	0
6th	4	4	0	3	4	0	1	1	3	2	2	8*	3	0	0	1
7th	0	5	0	8*	5	2	4	2	2	3	4	5	5	1	1	0
TOTAL	11	20	2	34	20	7	13	20	23	20	23	36*	21	2	3	1

See also

• List of first overall National Football League draft picks
• Mr. Irrelevant – the list of last overall National Football League draft picks

References

General references

• 2009 NFL Draft at Pro Football Reference
• 2009 NFL Draft at ESPN

Trade references

Specific references