American football player selection
The 1971 NFL draft was held January 28–29, 1971, at the Belmont Plaza Hotel in New York City , New York . The Boston Patriots, who did not officially change their name to New England Patriots until after the draft, used the first overall pick of the draft to select quarterback Jim Plunkett . It was the first draft where the first three selections were quarterbacks (Plunkett, Archie Manning , and Dan Pastorini ).
During round 17, after Falcons coach Norm Van Brocklin had yelled to his staff "Do we want the roughest, toughest s.o.b. in the draft?!", the team drafted the then-64-year-old actor John Wayne , though saying he was from "Fort Apache State" (Wayne actually played football at USC ); NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle rejected the selection.[ 1]
^ a b May sometimes be referred to as an edge rusher (EDGE) ^ Also known as offensive guard (OG) ^ Also known as placekicker (PK) ^ Also known as inside linebacker (ILB)
Pick # NFL team Player Position College 209 Boston Patriots Josh Ashton Running back Tulsa 210 New Orleans Saints Tom Williams Defensive back Willamette 211 Philadelphia Eagles Len Pettigrew Linebacker Ashland 212 Houston Oilers Floyd Rice Linebacker Alcorn A&M 213 Buffalo Bills Bob Strickland Linebacker Auburn 214 New York Jets John Curtis Tight end Springfield 215 Atlanta Falcons Alvin Griffin Wide receiver Tuskegee 216 Pittsburgh Steelers Mike Anderson Linebacker LSU 217 Denver Broncos John Handy Linebacker Purdue 218 Green Bay Packers Barry Mayer Running back Minnesota 219 Washington Redskins Mike Fanucci Defensive end Arizona State 220 Chicago Bears Lester McClain Wide receiver Tennessee 221 San Diego Chargers John Tanner Tight end Tennessee Tech 222 Cleveland Browns Wilmur Levels Defensive back North Texas State 223 Cincinnati Bengals Gary Gustafson Linebacker Montana State 224 Kansas City Chiefs Alvin Hawes Tackle Minnesota 225 St. Louis Cardinals Mike Savoy Wide receiver Black Hills (S.D.) 226 New York Giants Ed Thomas Linebacker Lebanon Valley 227 Oakland Raiders Dave Garnett Running back Pittsburgh 228 Los Angeles Rams Joe Schmidt Wide receiver Miami (FL) 229 Detroit Lions Mickey Zofko Running back Auburn 230 Miami Dolphins Vern Den Herder Defensive end Central Iowa 231 San Francisco 49ers Therman Couch Linebacker Iowa State 232 Minnesota Vikings Tim Sullivan Running back Iowa 233 Dallas Cowboys Honor Jackson Wide receiver Pacific 234 Baltimore Colts Bill Burnett Running back Arkansas
Pick # NFL team Player Position College 235 Boston Patriots Layne McDowell Tackle Iowa 236 San Francisco 49ers Ron Cardo Running back Wisconsin–Oshkosh 237 Houston Oilers Russell Price Defensive end North Carolina Central 238 Oakland Raiders William West Defensive back Tennessee State 239 New Orleans Saints Rocky Pamplin Running back Hawaii 240 New York Jets Jim Betts Defensive back Michigan 241 Atlanta Falcons Faddie Tillman Defensive end Boise State 242 Pittsburgh Steelers Jim O'Shea Tight end Boston College 243 Denver Broncos Carlis Harris Wide receiver Idaho State 244 Washington Redskins Jesse Taylor Running back Cincinnati 245 Chicago Bears Larry Rowden Linebacker Houston 246 Green Bay Packers Kevin Hunt Tackle Doane 247 San Diego Chargers Gary Nowak Tight end Michigan State 248 Cleveland Browns Steve Casteel Linebacker Oklahoma 249 Cincinnati Bengals Jack Stambaugh Guard Oregon 250 Kansas City Chiefs Bruce Jankowski Wide receiver Ohio State 251 St. Louis Cardinals Ronald Miller Tackle McNeese State 252 New York Giants Henry Reed Linebacker Weber State 253 Oakland Raiders Tim Oesterling Defensive tackle UCLA 254 Los Angeles Rams Don Popplewell Center Colorado 255 Miami Dolphins Ron Maree Defensive tackle Purdue 256 Philadelphia Eagles Tom Bailey Running back Florida State 257 San Francisco 49ers Ernie Jennings Wide receiver Air Force 258 Minnesota Vikings Chris Morris Guard Indiana 259 Dallas Cowboys Rodney Wallace Defensive tackle New Mexico 260 Baltimore Colts Rex Kern Quarterback Ohio State
Pick # NFL team Player Position College 261 Boston Patriots Dan Schneiss Tight end Nebraska 262 New Orleans Saints Bob Pollard Defensive end Weber State 263 Buffalo Bills Andy Browder Tackle Texas A&I 264 Philadelphia Eagles Albert Davis Running back Tennessee State 265 Houston Oilers Macon Hughes Wide receiver Rice 266 New York Jets Vernon Studdard Wide receiver Mississippi 267 Atlanta Falcons Larry Shears Defensive back Lincoln (MO) 268 Pittsburgh Steelers Mike Wagner Defensive back Western Illinois 269 Denver Broncos Roger Roitsch Defensive tackle Rice 270 Chicago Bears Cliff Hardy Defensive back Michigan State 271 Green Bay Packers John Lanier Running back Parsons 272 Washington Redskins George Starke Tackle Columbia 273 San Diego Chargers Don Pinson Defensive back Tennessee State 274 Cleveland Browns Mike Sikich Guard Northwestern 275 Cincinnati Bengals Edward Marshall Wide receiver Cameron State 276 Kansas City Chiefs Nate Allen Defensive back Texas Southern 277 St. Louis Cardinals Rick Ogle Linebacker Colorado 278 New York Giants Marshall Ellison Guard Dayton 279 Oakland Raiders Jim Poston Defensive tackle South Carolina 280 Los Angeles Rams Charlie Richards Quarterback Richmond 281 Detroit Lions Phil Webb Defensive back Colorado State 282 Miami Dolphins Vic Surma Tackle Penn State 283 San Francisco 49ers Joe Reed Quarterback Mississippi State 284 Minnesota Vikings Mike Walker Linebacker Tulane 285 Dallas Cowboys Ernest Bonwell Defensive tackle Lane (Tenn.) 286 Baltimore Colts Dave Jones Linebacker Baylor
Pick # NFL team Player Position College 287 Boston Patriots John Rodman Tackle Northwestern 288 New Orleans Saints Ron Gathright Defensive back Morehead State 289 Philadelphia Eagles Rich Saathoff Defensive end Northern Arizona 290 Houston Oilers John Thompson Guard Minnesota 291 Buffalo Bills Jim Sheffield Kicker Texas A&M 292 New York Jets Rich Sowells Defensive back Alcorn A&M 293 Atlanta Falcons Ronnie Lowe Wide receiver Ft. Valley State 294 Baltimore Colts Bob Wuensch Tackle Texas 295 Denver Broncos Floyd Franks Wide receiver Mississippi 296 Green Bay Packers Greg Hendren Guard California 297 Washington Redskins Jeff Severson Defensive back Cal State-Long Beach 298 Chicago Bears Steve Booras Defensive end Mesa Jr. College 299 San Diego Chargers Wesley Garnett Wide receiver Utah State 300 Cleveland Browns Tony Blanchard Tight end North Carolina 301 Cincinnati Bengals James Hayden Defensive end Memphis State 302 Kansas City Chiefs Tony Esposito Running back Pittsburgh 303 St. Louis Cardinals Tim Von Dulm Quarterback Portland State 304 New York Giants Tom Blanchard Kicker Oregon 305 Oakland Raiders Horace Jones Defensive tackle Louisville 306 Los Angeles Rams Kirk Behrendt Tackle Whitewater 307 Miami Dolphins Leroy Byars Running back Alcorn A&M 308 Detroit Lions Bill Pilconis Wide receiver Pittsburgh 309 San Francisco 49ers Jim Bunch Defensive tackle Wisconsin–Platteville 310 Minnesota Vikings Reggie Holmes Defensive back Wisconsin–Stout 311 Dallas Cowboys Steve Goepel Quarterback Colgate 312 Baltimore Colts Bill Triplett Wide receiver Michigan State
Pick # NFL team Player Position College 313 Boston Patriots Lewis Swain Defensive back Alabama A&M 314 New Orleans Saints Don Burchfield Tight end Ball State 315 Houston Oilers Joe Hoing Guard Arkansas Tech 316 Buffalo Bills Busty Underwood Quarterback Texas Christian 317 Philadelphia Eagles Danny Lester Defensive back Texas 318 New York Jets John Eggold Defensive end Arizona 319 Atlanta Falcons Dan Crooks Defensive back Wisconsin 320 Pittsburgh Steelers Alfred Young Wide receiver South Carolina State 321 Denver Broncos Craig Blackford Quarterback Evansville 322 Washington Redskins Dan Ryczek Center Virginia 323 Chicago Bears Ed Nicholas Tackle North Carolina State 324 Green Bay Packers Jack Martin Running back Angelo State 325 San Diego Chargers Sammy Milner Wide receiver Mississippi State 326 Cleveland Browns Thad Jamula Tackle Lehigh 327 Cincinnati Bengals David Knapman Tight end Central Washington 328 Kansas City Chiefs Chuck Hixson Quarterback Southern Methodist 329 St. Louis Cardinals Jeff Allen Defensive back Iowa State 330 New York Giants Dave Roller Defensive tackle Kentucky 331 Los Angeles Rams Russell Harrison Running back Kansas State 332 Detroit Lions David Abercrombie Running back Tulane 333 Miami Dolphins Lionel Hepburn Defensive back Texas Southern 334 Oakland Raiders Mick Natzel Defensive back Central Michigan 335 San Francisco 49ers John Bullock Running back Purdue 336 Minnesota Vikings Benny Fry Center Houston 337 Dallas Cowboys James Ford Running back Texas Southern 338 Baltimore Colts Tom Neville Linebacker Yale
Pick # NFL team Player Position College 339 Boston Patriots Alfred Sykes Wide receiver Florida A&M 340 New Orleans Saints Bobby Scott Quarterback Tennessee 341 Buffalo Bills Jim Hoots Defensive end Missouri Southern 342 Philadelphia Eagles Robert Creech Linebacker Texas Christian 343 Houston Oilers Dick Adams Defensive back Miami (OH) 344 New York Jets John Harpring Guard Michigan 345 Atlanta Falcons Daryl Comer Tight end Texas 346 Pittsburgh Steelers McKinney Evans Defensive back New Mexico Highlands 347 Chicago Bears Willie Lewis Running back Arizona 348 Green Bay Packers LeRoy Spears Defensive end Moorhead (MN) 349 Washington Redskins Bill Bynum Quarterback W. New Mexico 350 Denver Broncos Tommy Lyons Center Georgia 351 San Diego Chargers Edward O'Daniel Defensive end Texas Southern 352 Cleveland Browns Rick Kingrea Linebacker Tulane 353 Cincinnati Bengals Irvin Mallory Defensive back Virginia Union 354 Kansas City Chiefs Bruce Bergey Defensive end UCLA 355 St. Louis Cardinals Doug Klausen Tackle Arizona 356 New York Giants Charlie Evans Running back USC 357 Oakland Raiders Tom Gipson Defensive tackle North Texas State 358 Los Angeles Rams Lionel Coleman Defensive back Oregon 359 Miami Dolphins David Vaughn Tight end Memphis State 360 Detroit Lions Tom Lorenz Tight end Iowa State 361 San Francisco 49ers Bill Dunstan Defensive end Utah State 362 Minnesota Vikings Jim Gallagher Linebacker Yale 363 Dallas Cowboys Tyrone Covey Defensive back Utah State 364 Baltimore Colts Mike Mikolayunas Running back Davidson
Pick # NFL team Player Position College 365 Boston Patriots Nick McGarry Tight end Massachusetts 366 New Orleans Saints Bart Graves Tackle Tulane 367 Philadelphia Eagles Ed Fisher Guard Prairie View A&M 368 Houston Oilers Andy Hopkins Running back Stephen F. Austin 369 Buffalo Bills Charles Cole Running back Toledo 370 New York Jets Dan Dyches Center South Carolina 371 Atlanta Falcons Wallace Clark Running back Auburn 372 Pittsburgh Steelers Ray Makin Guard Kentucky 373 Denver Broncos Larry James Running back Norfolk State 374 Green Bay Packers Len Garrett Tight end New Mexico Highlands 375 Washington Redskins Anthony Christnovich Guard LaCrosse (Wisc) 376 Chicago Bears Ron Maciejowski Quarterback Ohio State 377 San Diego Chargers Eric Humston Linebacker Muskingum 378 Cleveland Browns Bill Green Defensive back Western Kentucky 379 Cincinnati Bengals Bob Thomas Running back Arizona State 380 Kansas City Chiefs Mike Montgomery Defensive back Southwest Texas State 381 St. Louis Cardinals Ted Heiskell Running back Houston 382 New York Giants Jim Wright Linebacker Notre Dame 383 Oakland Raiders Andy Giles Defensive end William & Mary 384 Los Angeles Rams Vontez Norman VI Guard Notre Dame 385 Detroit Lions Ed Coates Wide receiver Central Missouri 386 Miami Dolphins Bob Richards Guard California 387 San Francisco 49ers John Lennon Tackle Colgate 388 Minnesota Vikings Jeff Wright Defensive back Minnesota 389 Dallas Cowboys Bob Young Tight end Delaware 390 Baltimore Colts Mike Hogan Linebacker Michigan State
Pick # NFL team Player Position College 391 Boston Patriots Jim Zikmund Defensive back Kearney State 392 New Orleans Saints Craig Robinson Tackle Houston 393 Houston Oilers Mose Denson Running back Maryland State 394 Buffalo Bills Billy Hunter Defensive back Utah 395 Philadelphia Eagles Bruce James Linebacker Arkansas 396 New York Jets Steve Harkey Running back Georgia Tech 397 Atlanta Falcons Lindsey James Running back San Diego State 398 Pittsburgh Steelers Walter Huntley Defensive back Trinity 399 Denver Broncos Steve Thompson Defensive tackle Minnesota 400 Washington Redskins Glenn Tucker Linebacker North Texas State 401 Chicago Bears Sid Bailey Defensive end Texas-Arlington 402 Green Bay Packers Jack O'Donnell Guard Central State (OK) 403 San Diego Chargers Ed Foote Center Hawaii 404 Cleveland Browns Dave Smith Wide receiver Mississippi State 405 Cincinnati Bengals Mark Debevc Linebacker Ohio State 406 Kansas City Chiefs Darrell Jansonius Guard Iowa State 407 St. Louis Cardinals Lawrence Brame Linebacker Western Kentucky 408 New York Giants Dick Gibbs Tight end Texas-El Paso 409 Los Angeles Rams Ross Boice Linebacker Pacific Lutheran 410 Miami Dolphins Chris Myers Wide receiver Kenyon 411 Detroit Lions Tom Kutchinski Defensive back Michigan State 412 Oakland Raiders Tony Stawarz Defensive back Miami (FL) 413 Minnesota Vikings Greg Edmonds Wide receiver Penn State 414 San Francisco 49ers Dave Purcell Defensive tackle Kentucky 415 Dallas Cowboys John Brennan Tackle Boston College 416 Baltimore Colts Rich Harrington Defensive back Houston
Pick # NFL team Player Position College 417 Boston Patriots Ronald Leigh Defensive end Elizabeth City State 418 Los Angeles Rams Randy Vataha Wide receiver Stanford 419 Buffalo Bills Pat Morrison Tight end Arkansas 420 Philadelphia Eagles John Sage Linebacker LSU 421 Houston Oilers Calvin Fox Linebacker Michigan State 422 New York Jets Greg Flaska Defensive end Western Michigan 423 Atlanta Falcons Willie Martin Running back Johnson C. Smith 424 Pittsburgh Steelers Danny Ehle Running back Howard Payne 425 Denver Broncos Jack Simcsak Kicker Virginia Tech 426 Chicago Bears Ray Garganes Linebacker Millersville (PA) 427 Green Bay Packers Monty Johnson Defensive back Oklahoma 428 New Orleans Saints Hermann Eben Wide receiver Oklahoma State 429 San Diego Chargers Chip Kell Center Tennessee 430 Cleveland Browns Leo Dillon Center Dayton 431 Kansas City Chiefs Travis Hill Defensive back Prairie View A&M 432 Cincinnati Bengals Sam Pearson Defensive back Western Kentucky 433 St. Louis Cardinals Preston Watkins Wide receiver Bluefield (WV) 434 New York Giants Coleman Zeno Wide receiver Grambling 435 Los Angeles Rams Joe Sweet Wide receiver Tennessee State 436 Detroit Lions Gordon Jolley Tackle Utah 437 Miami Dolphins Curt Mark Linebacker Mayville (N.D.) 438 San Francisco 49ers Leroy Charlton Defensive back Florida A&M 439 Minnesota Vikings Ken Duncan Punter Tulsa 440 Dallas Cowboys John Bomer Center Memphis State 441 Baltimore Colts Don Nottingham Running back Kent State 442 [ 5] Oakland Raiders Charles Hill Wide receiver Sam Houston State
= Pro Bowler [ 2] = Hall of Famer
Notable undrafted players [ edit ] Jack Ham , linebacker from Pennsylvania State, taken 2nd round 34th overall by Pittsburgh Steelers Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1988.[ 6] John Riggins , running back from Kansas, taken 1st round 6th overall by New York Jets Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1992.[ 7] Dan Dierdorf , offensive tackle from Michigan, taken 2nd round 43rd overall by St. Louis Cardinals Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1996.[ 7] Jack Youngblood , defensive end from Florida, taken 1st round 20th overall by Los Angeles Rams Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2001.[ 8] Harold Carmichael , wide receiver from Southern, taken 7th round 161st overall by Philadelphia Eagles Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2020 ^ Prewitt, Alex (April 29, 2022). "Inside the 1971 NFL Draft, Where Atlanta Selected...John Wayne?" . Sports Illustrated . Retrieved July 23, 2022 . ^ a b c d Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro Bowl at any time in their career. ^ Players are identified as a Hall of Famer if they have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. ^ "Heisman Trophy" . Archived from the original on February 10, 2010. Retrieved August 14, 2013 . ^ This last selection is commonly referred to as Mr. Irrelevant . ^ List of 1980s Hall of Fame Inductee's at profootballhof.com "Pro Football Hall of Fame" . Archived from the original on July 31, 2008. Retrieved October 7, 2008 . ^ a b List of 1990s Hall of Fame Inductee's at profootballhof.com "Pro Football Hall of Fame" . Archived from the original on July 31, 2008. Retrieved October 7, 2008 . ^ List of 2000s Hall of Fame Inductee's at profootballhof.com "Pro Football Hall of Fame" . Archived from the original on July 31, 2008. Retrieved October 7, 2008 .