National Football League draft
The 1977 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 May 3–4, 1977 , at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City , New York .[ 1] [ 2] The league also held its first supplemental draft , which took place after the regular draft and before the regular season.
This was the first draft in the common draft era (since 1967 ) with twelve rounds, five rounds fewer than the previous decade. The draft had twelve rounds until reduced to eight in 1993 and seven the following year , where it has remains.
The draft began with commissioner Pete Rozelle dedicating a moment of silence to California quarterback Joe Roth , one of the most electric passers in college football . Eligible for this draft, he died in February from skin cancer at the age of 21.
With the first overall pick of the draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected USC running back Ricky Bell . Next was Heisman Trophy winner Tony Dorsett of national champion Pittsburgh , taken by the Dallas Cowboys .
^ 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 252 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Robert Morgan Running back Florida 253 Pittsburgh Steelers Alvin Cowans Defensive back Florida 254 Seattle Seahawks Sam Adkins Quarterback Wichita State 255 New York Giants Mike Jones Wide receiver Minnesota 256 New York Jets John Hennessy Defensive end Michigan 257 Atlanta Falcons Billy Ryckman Wide receiver Louisiana Tech 258 New Orleans Saints Rafael Septién Kicker Southwestern Louisiana 259 Philadelphia Eagles John Mastronardo Wide receiver Villanova 260 Green Bay Packers Jim Culbreath Running back Oklahoma 261 Kansas City Chiefs Mark Vitali Quarterback Purdue 262 Houston Oilers Harvey Hull Linebacker Mississippi State 263 Detroit Lions Gary Anderson Guard Stanford 264 Miami Dolphins Mark Carter Tight end Eastern Michigan 265 San Diego Chargers Curtis Townsend Linebacker Arkansas 266 Chicago Bears Dennis Breckner Defensive end Miami (FL) 267 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Aaron Ball Linebacker Fullerton State 268 Denver Broncos Oren Middlebrook Wide receiver Arkansas State 269 Cleveland Browns Tom Burkett Tackle North Carolina 270 St. Louis Cardinals Jim LeJay Wide receiver San Jose State 271 Pittsburgh Steelers Dave LaCrosse Linebacker Wake Forest 272 Cincinnati Bengals Bob Bialik Punter Hillsdale 273 Washington Redskins James Sykes Running back Rice 274 Los Angeles Rams Don Petersen Tight end Boston College 275 Dallas Cowboys Steve DeBerg Quarterback San Jose State 276 New England Patriots John Rasmussen Tackle Wisconsin 277 Baltimore Colts Ron Baker Guard Oklahoma State 278 Minnesota Vikings Dan Beaver Kicker Illinois 279 New England Patriots Giles Alexander Defensive end Tulsa
Pick # NFL team Player Position College 280 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Chuck Rodgers Defensive back North Dakota State 281 Seattle Seahawks Bill Westbeld Tackle Dayton 282 Buffalo Bills Nate Jackson Running back Tennessee State 283 Philadelphia Eagles Rocco Moore Tackle Western Michigan 284 New York Giants Bill Helms Tight end San Diego State 285 New Orleans Saints John Blain Tackle San Jose State 286 Philadelphia Eagles Mike Cordova Quarterback Stanford 287 Atlanta Falcons Dave Farmer Running back USC 288 Kansas City Chiefs Maurice Mitchell Wide receiver Northern Michigan 289 Houston Oilers Al Romano Linebacker Pittsburgh 290 Green Bay Packers Terry Randolph Defensive back American International 291 Miami Dolphins John Alexander Defensive end Rutgers 292 Cincinnati Bengals Joel Parrish Guard Georgia 293 Detroit Lions Tony Daykin Linebacker Georgia Tech 294 Chicago Bears Connie Zelencik Center Purdue 295 San Francisco 49ers Brian Billick Tight end Brigham Young 296 Cleveland Browns Charles Nash Wide receiver Arizona 297 Denver Broncos Phil Heck Linebacker California 298 Pittsburgh Steelers Lou West Defensive back Cincinnati 299 Cincinnati Bengals Carl Allen Defensive back Southern Mississippi 300 Washington Redskins Don Harris Defensive back Rutgers 301 St. Louis Cardinals Greg Lee Defensive back Western Illinois 302 Los Angeles Rams Carson Long Kicker Pittsburgh 303 New England Patriots Ray Costict Linebacker Mississippi State 304 Baltimore Colts Brian Ruff Linebacker The Citadel 305 Dallas Cowboys Don Wardlow Tight end Washington 306 Minnesota Vikings Keith Hartwig Wide receiver Arizona 307 New York Jets Dave Butterfield Defensive back Nebraska
Pick # NFL team Player Position College 308 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Chip Sheffield Wide receiver Lenoir-Rhyne 309 Buffalo Bills Charles Romes Defensive back North Carolina Central 310 Pittsburgh Steelers Jimmy Stephens Tight end Florida 311 New York Giants Elmo Simmons Running back Texas-Arlington 312 New York Jets Phil Gargis Running back Auburn 313 New York Jets Dave Conrad Tackle Maryland 314 St. Louis Cardinals Don Parrish Defensive end Pittsburgh 315 New Orleans Saints Oakley Dalton Defensive tackle Jackson State 316 Houston Oilers Ove Johansson Kicker Abilene Christian 317 Oakland Raiders Rod Martin Linebacker USC 318 Kansas City Chiefs Ray Burks Linebacker UCLA 319 San Diego Chargers Jim Stansik Tight end Eastern Michigan 320 Detroit Lions Dave Greenwood Guard Iowa State 321 Miami Dolphins Terry Anderson Wide receiver Bethune-Cookman 322 Chicago Bears Terry Irvin Defensive back Jackson State 323 San Francisco 49ers Scott Martin Guard North Dakota 324 Denver Broncos Scott Levenhagen Tight end Western Illinois 325 Cleveland Browns Leo Tierney Center Georgia Tech 326 Cincinnati Bengals Alex Percival Wide receiver Morehouse (GA) 327 Washington Redskins Curtis Kirkland Defensive end Missouri 328 St. Louis Cardinals Rick Fenlaw Linebacker Texas 329 Seattle Seahawks I. V. Wilson Defensive tackle Tulsa 330 Los Angeles Rams Barry Caudill Center Southern Mississippi 331 Baltimore Colts Bill Deutsch Running back North Dakota 332 Dallas Cowboys Greg Peters Guard California 333 New England Patriots Dave Preston Running back Bowling Green 334 Oakland Raiders Rolf Benirschke Kicker California-Davis 335 [ 5] Minnesota Vikings Jim Kelleher Running back Colorado
= Pro Bowler [ 3] = Hall of Famer
Notable undrafted players [ edit ] Tony Dorsett , running back from Pittsburgh, taken 1st round 2nd overall by Dallas Cowboys Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1994.[ 6] Tony Dungy , safety from Minnesota, undrafted and signed by Pittsburgh Steelers Inducted: For his Head Coaching achievements Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2016. Joe Klecko , defensive tackle from Temple, taken 6th round 144th overall by New York Jets Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame Class of 2023.