The NFL draft takes place on the last Thursday-Saturday of April of every year. The draft order is determined based on the previous season's standings. There are seven rounds in the NFL draft as of 2025. Each round has 32 picks and at least 224 players are selected in each NFL Draft as per Pro Football Network. The 2024 NFL draft has 257 picks as reported by Pro Football Network.
At the draft venue, each team's representative is present, who communicates with their executive at the draft room before giving out a card to an NFL staff member known as a runner. On that card, the player's (one that the team wants to draft) name, position, and school are written. Until the card is handed to the runner, the selection is not official (via NFL Operations).
Who are the Number 1 overall draft picks over the years?
The No.1 overall draft picks since 1936 (when the draft was first introduced) are as below:
| Year | Player | Selected by | Position | College |
| 1936 | Jay Berwanger | Philadelphia Eagles | Halfback | Chicago |
| 1937 | Sam Francis | Philadelphia Eagles | Fullback | Nebraska |
| 1938 | Corbett Davis | Cleveland Rams | Fullback | Indiana |
| 1939 | Ki Aldrich | Chicago Cardinals | Center | TCU |
| 1940 | George Cafego | Chicago Cardinals | Halfback | Tennessee |
| 1941 | Tom Harmon | Chicago Bears | Halfback | Michigan |
| 1942 | Bill Dudley | Pittsburgh Steelers | Halfback | Virginia |
| 1943 | Frank Sinkwich | Detroit Lions | Halfback | Georgia |
| 1944 | Angelo Bertelli | Boston Yanks | Quarterback | Notre Dame |
| 1945 | Charley Trippi | Chicago Cardinals | Halfback | Georgia |
| 1946 | Frank Dancewicz | Boston Yanks | Quarterback | Notre Dame |
| 1947 | Bob Fenimore | Chicago Bears | Halfback | Oklahoma A&M |
| 1948 | Harry Gilmer | Washington Redskins | Quarterback | Alabama |
| 1949 | Chuck Bednarik | Philadelphia Eagles | Center/Linebacker | Penn |
| 1950 | Leon Hart | Detroit Lions | End/Fullback | Notre Dame |
| 1951 | Kyle Rote | New York Giants | Halfback | SMU |
| 1952 | Bill Wade | Los Angeles Rams | Quarterback | Vanderbilt |
| 1953 | Harry Babcock | San Francisco 49ers | End/Wide Receiver | Georgia |
| 1954 | Bobby Garrett | Cleveland Browns | Quarterback | Stanford |
| 1955 | George Shaw | Baltimore Colts | Quarterback | Oregon |
| 1956 | Gary Glick | Pittsburgh Steelers | Defensive Back | Colorado A&M |
| 1957 | Paul Hornung | Green Bay Packers | Halfback | Notre Dame |
| 1958 | King Hill | Chicago Cardinals | Quarterback | Rice |
| 1959 | Randy Duncan | Green Bay Packers | Quarterback | Iowa |
| 1960 | Billy Cannon | Los Angeles Rams | Running Back | LSU |
| 1961 | Tommy Mason | Minnesota Vikings | Running Back | Tulane |
| 1962 | Ernie Davis | Washington Redskins | Running Back | Syracuse |
| 1963 | Terry Baker | Los Angeles Rams | Quarterback | Oregon State |
| 1964 | Dave Parks | San Francisco 49ers | Wide Receiver | Texas Tech |
| 1965 | Tucker Frederickson | New York Giants | Running Back | Auburn |
| 1966 | Tommy Nobis | Atlanta Falcons | Linebacker | Texas |
| 1967 | Bubba Smith | Baltimore Colts | Defensive End | Michigan State |
| 1968 | Ron Yary | Minnesota Vikings | Offensive Tackle | USC |
| 1969 | O. J. Simpson | Buffalo Bills | Running Back | USC |
| 1970 | Terry Bradshaw | Pittsburgh Steelers | Quarterback | Louisiana Tech |
| 1971 | Jim Plunkett | New England Patriots | Quarterback | Stanford |
| 1972 | Walt Patulski | Buffalo Bills | Defensive End | Notre Dame |
| 1973 | John Matuszak | Houston Oilers | Defensive End | Tampa |
| 1974 | Ed Jones | Dallas Cowboys | Defensive End | Tennessee State |
| 1975 | Steve Bartkowski | Atlanta Falcons | Quarterback | California |
| 1976 | Lee Roy Selmon | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Defensive End | Oklahoma |
| 1977 | Ricky Bell | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Running Back | USC |
| 1978 | Earl Campbell | Houston Oilers | Running Back | Texas |
| 1979 | Tom Cousineau | Buffalo Bills | Linebacker | Ohio State |
| 1980 | Billy Sims | Detroit Lions | Running Back | Oklahoma |
| 1981 | George Rogers | New Orleans Saints | Running Back | South Carolina |
| 1982 | Kenneth Sims | New England Patriots | Defensive End | Texas |
| 1983 | John Elway | Baltimore Colts | Quarterback | Stanford |
| 1984 | Irving Fryar | New England Patriots | Wide Receiver | Nebraska |
| 1985 | Bruce Smith | Buffalo Bills | Defensive End | Virginia Tech |
| 1986 | Bo Jackson | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Running Back | Auburn |
| 1987 | Vinny Testaverde | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Quarterback | Miami (FL) |
| 1988 | Aundray Bruce | Atlanta Falcons | Linebacker | Auburn |
| 1989 | Troy Aikman | Dallas Cowboys | Quarterback | UCLA |
| 1990 | Jeff George | Indianapolis Colts | Quarterback | Illinois |
| 1991 | Russell Maryland | Dallas Cowboys | Defensive Tackle | Miami (FL) |
| 1992 | Steve Emtman | Indianapolis Colts | Defensive End | Washington |
| 1993 | Drew Bledsoe | New England Patriots | Quarterback | Washington State |
| 1994 | Dan Wilkinson | Cincinnati Bengals | Defensive Tackle | Ohio State |
| 1995 | Ki-Jana Carter | Cincinnati Bengals | Running Back | Penn State |
| 1996 | Keyshawn Johnson | New York Jets | Wide Receiver | USC |
| 1997 | Orlando Pace | St. Louis Rams | Offensive Tackle | Ohio State |
| 1998 | Peyton Manning | Indianapolis Colts | Quarterback | Tennessee |
| 1999 | Tim Couch | Cleveland Browns | Quarterback | Kentucky |
| 2000 | Courtney Brown | Cleveland Browns | Defensive End | Penn State |
| 2001 | Michael Vick | Atlanta Falcons | Quarterback | Virginia Tech |
| 2002 | David Carr | Houston Texans | Quarterback | Fresno State |
| 2003 | Carson Palmer | Cincinnati Bengals | Quarterback | USC |
| 2004 | Eli Manning | San Diego Chargers | Quarterback | Ole Miss |
| 2005 | Alex Smith | San Francisco 49ers | Quarterback | Utah |
| 2006 | Mario Williams | Houston Texans | Defensive End | North Carolina State |
| 2007 | JaMarcus Russell | Oakland Raiders | Quarterback | LSU |
| 2008 | Jake Long | Miami Dolphins | Offensive Tackle | Michigan |
| 2009 | Matthew Stafford | Detroit Lions | Quarterback | Georgia |
| 2010 | Sam Bradford | St. Louis Rams | Quarterback | Oklahoma |
| 2011 | Cam Newton | Carolina Panthers | Quarterback | Auburn |
| 2012 | Andrew Luck | Indianapolis Colts | Quarterback | Stanford |
| 2013 | Eric Fisher | Kansas City Chiefs | Offensive Tackle | Central Michigan |
| 2014 | Jadeveon Clowney | Houston Texans | Defensive End | South Carolina |
| 2015 | Jameis Winston | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Quarterback | Florida State |
| 2016 | Jared Goff | Los Angeles Rams | Quarterback | California |
| 2017 | Myles Garrett | Cleveland Browns | Defensive End | Texas A&M |
| 2018 | Baker Mayfield | Cleveland Browns | Quarterback | Oklahoma |
| 2019 | Kyler Murray | Arizona Cardinals | Quarterback | Oklahoma |
| 2020 | Joe Burrow | Cincinnati Bengals | Quarterback | LSU |
| 2021 | Trevor Lawrence | Jacksonville Jaguars | Quarterback | Clemson |
| 2022 | Travon Walker | Jacksonville Jaguars | Defensive End | Georgia |
| 2023 | Bryce Young | Carolina Panthers | Quarterback | Alabama |
| 2024 | Caleb Williams | Chicago Bears | Quarterback | USC |
While not all number-one overall picks have gone on to meet their potential, there are quite a few legends of the game as well as future Hall of Famer who were snapped up with this pick. Many of them have gone on to represent their sides in the Super Bowl while also winning multiple Vince Lombardi trophies. Peyton Manning, Troy Aikman, Terry Bradshaw, and John Elway are prime examples of this.
Related:
FAQs on NFL Draft
A. The Jacksonville Jaguars have the most number of draft picks in the 2025 NFL draft as per CBS Sports.
A. The 2025 NFL draft is gonna take place in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
A. The first NFL draft was held in 1936.
A. The NFL draft has seven rounds.
