1961 NFL draft

The 1961 NFL draft took place at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia on December 27–28, 1960. The league would later hold an expansion draft for the Minnesota Vikings expansion franchise. This draft was also the first regular draft for the Dallas Cowboys as they had only participated in the 1960 NFL expansion draft that year.
The Cowboys held the worst record in the NFL the previous season, but selected second in this draft because the expansion Vikings were awarded the first overall pick. The Vikings used that pick to select running back Tommy Mason.

Player selections

Round 1

Pick #	NFL team	Player	Position	College
1	Minnesota Vikings	Tommy Mason	Halfback	Tulane
2	Washington Redskins	Norm Snead	Quarterback	Wake Forest
3	Washington Redskins	Joe Rutgens	Tackle	Illinois
4	Los Angeles Rams	Marlin McKeever	Linebacker	USC
5	Chicago Bears	Mike Ditka	End	Pittsburgh
6	San Francisco 49ers	James Earl "Jimmy" Johnson	Cornerback, Safety, Wide receiver	UCLA
7	Baltimore Colts	Tom Matte	Running back	Ohio State
8	St. Louis Cardinals	Ken Rice	Tackle	Auburn
9	San Francisco 49ers	Bernie Casey	Back	Bowling Green
10	Cleveland Browns	Bobby Crespino	End	Mississippi
11	San Francisco 49ers	Billy Kilmer	Quarterback	UCLA
12	Green Bay Packers	Herb Adderley	Back	Michigan State
13	Dallas Cowboys	Bob Lilly	Tackle	Texas Christian
14	Philadelphia Eagles	Art Baker	fullback	Syracuse

^HOF Member of the Professional Football Hall of Fame
Round 2

Pick #	NFL team	Player	Position	College
15	Minnesota Vikings	Rip Hawkins	Linebacker	North Carolina
16	Dallas Cowboys	E. J. Holub	Center	Texas Tech
17	New York Giants	Bob Gaiters	Back	New Mexico State
18	Los Angeles Rams	Elbert Kimbrough	End	Northwestern
19	Pittsburgh Steelers	Myron Pottios	Linebacker	Notre Dame
20	Chicago Bears	Bill Brown	Back	Illinois
21	Baltimore Colts	Tom Gilburg	Tackle	Syracuse
22	St. Louis Cardinals	Fred Arbanas	End	Michigan State
23	Detroit Lions	Danny LaRose	End	Missouri
24	San Francisco 49ers	Roland Lakes	Center	Wichita State
25	New York Giants	Bruce Tarbox	Guard	Syracuse
26	Green Bay Packers	Ron Kostelnik	Tackle	Cincinnati
27	Cleveland Browns	Ed Nutting	Tackle	Georgia Tech
28	Philadelphia Eagles	Bo Strange	Center	Louisiana State

Round 3

Pick #	NFL team	Player	Position	College
29	Minnesota Vikings	Fran Tarkenton	Quarterback	Georgia
30	Dallas Cowboys	Stew Barber	Guard	Penn State
31	St. Louis Cardinals	Billy Wilson	Tackle	Auburn
32	Los Angeles Rams	Harold Beaty	Guard	Oklahoma State
33	Chicago Bears	Claude "Hoot" Gibson	Back	North Carolina State
34	Detroit Lions	Dick Mills	Tackle	Pittsburgh
35	Baltimore Colts	Jerry Hill	Running back	Wyoming
36	Philadelphia Eagles	Jim Wright	Quarterback	Memphis State
37	San Francisco 49ers	Bill Cooper	Back	Muskingum
38	Detroit Lions	Houston Antwine	Guard	Southern Illinois
39	Washington Redskins	Jim Cunningham	Back	Pittsburgh
40	Green Bay Packers	Phil Nugent	Back	Tulane
41	Los Angeles Rams	Ron Miller	Quarterback	Wisconsin
42	Philadelphia Eagles	Don Oakes	Tackle	Virginia Tech

Round 4

Pick #	NFL team	Player	Position	College
43	Minnesota Vikings	Chuck Lamson	Running back	Wyoming
44	Dallas Cowboys	Arnold Davis	End	Baylor
45	Los Angeles Rams	Charlie Cowan	Tackle	New Mexico Highlands
46	New York Giants	Ben Davidson	Tackle	Washington
47	San Francisco 49ers	Aaron Thomas	End	Oregon State
48	Chicago Bears	Ernie Ladd	Tackle	Grambling
49	Baltimore Colts	Ken Gregory	End	Whittier
50	St. Louis Cardinals	Ron McDole	Tackle	Nebraska
51	Detroit Lions	Ron Hartline	Running back	Oklahoma
52	San Francisco 49ers	Dale Messer	Back	Fresno State
53	Philadelphia Eagles	Dan Ficca	Guard	USC
54	Green Bay Packers	Paul Dudley	Back	Arkansas
55	Cleveland Browns	John Brown	Tackle	Syracuse
56	Green Bay Packers	Joe LeSage	Guard	Tulane

Round 5

Pick #	NFL team	Player	Position	College
57	Minnesota Vikings	Ed Sharockman	Cornerback	Pittsburgh
58	San Francisco 49ers	Clark Miller	Tackle	Utah State
59	Pittsburgh Steelers	Fred Mautino	End	Syracuse
60	Los Angeles Rams	Willie Hector	Guard	Pacific
61	Chicago Bears	Keith Lincoln	Back	Washington State
62	Baltimore Colts	Ed Dyas	Back	Auburn
63	Baltimore Colts	Ron Osborne	Tackle	Clemson
64	St. Louis Cardinals	Glenn Bass	End	East Carolina
65	San Francisco 49ers	Bob McCreary	Tackle	Wake Forest
66	Detroit Lions	Earl Faison	End	Indiana
67	New York Giants	Jerry Daniels	End	Mississippi
68	Green Bay Packers	Jack Novak	Guard	Miami
69	Cleveland Browns	Mike Lucci	Center	Tennessee
70	Detroit Lions	Ron Puckett	Tackle	Cal State-Los Angeles

Round 6

Pick #	NFL team	Player	Position	College
71	Minnesota Vikings	Jerry Burch	End	Georgia Tech
72	Washington Redskins	Joe Krakoski	Back	Illinois
73	Washington Redskins	John O'Day	Tackle	Miami
74	Los Angeles Rams	Bruce Olderman	Tackle	Allegheny
75	Los Angeles Rams	Larry Wood	Back	Northwestern
76	Chicago Bears	George Fleming	Back	Washington
77	Baltimore Colts	Don Kern	Running back	Virginia Military Inst
78	St. Louis Cardinals	Dale Evans	Back	Kansas State
79	Cleveland Browns	Frank Parker	Tackle	Oklahoma State
80	San Francisco 49ers	Mike McClellan	Back	Oklahoma
81	New York Giants	Greg Larson	Center	Minnesota
82	Green Bay Packers	Lee Folkins	End	Washington
83	St. Louis Cardinals	Dick Thornton	Quarterback	Northwestern
84	Philadelphia Eagles	Ben Balme	Guard	Yale

Round 7

Pick #	NFL team	Player	Position	College
85	Minnesota Vikings	Allan Ferrie	End	Wagner
86	Dallas Cowboys	Art Gilmore	Back	Oregon State
87	Washington Redskins	Jim Kerr	Back	Penn State
88	Los Angeles Rams	Bobby Smith	Back	UCLA
89	Chicago Bears	Mike Pyle	Center	Yale
90	Pittsburgh Steelers	Dick Hoak	Back	Penn State
91	Baltimore Colts	Ike Grimsley	Running back	Michigan State
92	St. Louis Cardinals	George Hultz	Tackle	Southern Mississippi
93	San Francisco 49ers	Ray Purdin	Back	Northwestern
94	St. Louis Cardinals	Al Bemiller	Center	Syracuse
95	New York Giants	Jim Collier	End	Arkansas
96	Green Bay Packers	Lewis Johnson	Back	Florida A&M
97	Cleveland Browns	Preston Powell	Back	Grambling
98	Philadelphia Eagles	Irv Cross	Back	Northwestern