1976 NFL draft
The 1976 NFL draft was an annual player selection meeting held April 8–9, 1976, at the Roosevelt Hotel |Roosevelt Hotel] in New York City, New York.
The draft lasted 17 rounds, with the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers season|Tampa Bay Buccaneers] and Seattle Seahawks season|Seattle Seahawks] making the first two selections. The Buccaneers were awarded the List of first overall [National Football League Draft picks|first overall pick] of the draft after winning a draw over the Seahawks, and used that pick to select defensive tackle Lee Roy Selmon. The expansion teams were also given a pair of extra picks at the end of each of rounds 2–5. The 1976 draft was the final NFL draft to last seventeen rounds; it was reduced to twelve rounds in 1977, and it was the first draft to officially have the infamous unofficial award, "Mr. Irrelevant", for the final player selected. Like 1974, the 1976 draft is generally regarded as one of the worst quarterback draft classes of all time. No quarterback from the 1976 draft class ever reached the Pro Bowl, an All-Pro team or a Super Bowl, and according to the estimate of Eldorado this quarterback class was the second-worst after 1996. Only first round pick Richard Todd, who led the New York Jets to their first postseason appearances since Super Bowl III New York Jets season|in 1981] and 1982, was ever a regular starter.
Five teams lost picks as a penalty for illegally signing former World Football League players: the New York Giants season|New York Giants] and Chicago Bears season|Chicago Bears] lost sixth-round picks, the Washington Redskins season|Washington Redskins] lost their seventh-round pick, and the Atlanta Falcons season|Atlanta Falcons] and New York Jets lost their tenth-round selections.
The college draft was originally scheduled for February 3–4, but was postponed when the owners of the Seahawks and Buccaneers filed a lawsuit against the players' union with worries that the organization would try to prevent the expansion draft. The court case delayed both the expansion draft and the annual college draft.
Player selections
Round 1–14
Round 15
| Pick # | NFL team | Player | Position | College |
| 404 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Bob Dzierzak | Defensive tackle | Utah State |
| 405 | Seattle Seahawks | Dan Smith | Tackle | Washington State |
| 406 | New Orleans Saints | Steve Seminoff | Defensive tackle | Wichita State |
| 407 | San Diego Chargers | Jack Hoffman | Defensive tackle | Indiana |
| 408 | Cleveland Browns | Luther Philyaw | Defensive back | Loyola |
| 409 | New England Patriots | Bernard Coleman | Wide receiver | Bethune-Cookman |
| 410 | New York Jets | Rick Faulk | Punter | San Francisco State |
| 411 | Chicago Bears | Jerry Meyers | Defensive tackle | Northern Illinois |
| 412 | Philadelphia Eagles | Brett White | Punter | UCLA |
| 413 | Green Bay Packers | Jerry Dandridge | Linebacker | Memphis State |
| 414 | Atlanta Falcons | Ron Olson | Defensive back | Washington |
| 415 | Kansas City Chiefs | Dave Rozumek | Linebacker | New Hampshire |
| 416 | San Francisco 49ers | Howard Stidham | Linebacker | Tennessee Tech |
| 417 | New York Giants | Eddie Morgan | Defensive tackle | Arkansas State |
| 418 | Denver Broncos | Wilbur Summers | Punter | Louisville |
| 419 | Detroit Lions | Trent Smock | Wide receiver | Indiana |
| 420 | St. Louis Cardinals | Lee Nelson | Defensive back | Florida State |
| 421 | Buffalo Bills | Arnold Robinson | Linebacker | Bethune-Cookman |
| 422 | Houston Oilers | Bobby Byars | Defensive back | Cheyney |
| 423 | Miami Dolphins | Ron Holmes | Running back | Utah State |
| 424 | Baltimore Colts | Gary Alexander | Tackle | Clemson |
| 425 | Cincinnati Bengals | Lynn Hieber | Quarterback | Indiana |
| 426 | Washington Redskins | John Monroe | Running back | Bluefield State |
| 427 | Oakland Raiders | Carl Hargrave | Defensive back | Upper Iowa |
| 428 | Minnesota Vikings | Ron Groce | Running back | Macalester |
| 429 | Los Angeles Rams | Malcolm Campbell | Wide receiver | Cal State-Los Angeles |
| 430 | Dallas Cowboys | Dale Curry | Linebacker | UCLA |
| 431 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Mel Davis | Defensive end | North Texas State |
Round 16
| Pick # | NFL team | Player | Position | College |
| 432 | Seattle Seahawks | Jeff Urczyk | Guard | Georgia Tech |
| 433 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Tommy West | Linebacker | Tennessee |
| 434 | San Diego Chargers | Jack Harrison | Guard | California |
| 435 | New Orleans Saints | Gene Jones | Tackle | Bowling Green |
| 436 | New England Patriots | Clifford Brown | Defensive tackle | Tuskegee |
| 437 | New York Jets | James Godwin | Running back | Fayetteville |
| 438 | Cleveland Browns | Chris Lorenzen | Defensive tackle | Arizona State |
| 439 | Philadelphia Eagles | Steve Campassi | Running back | Kentucky |
| 440 | Green Bay Packers | Mike Timmermans | Guard | Northern Iowa |
| 441 | Atlanta Falcons | Pat Curto | Linebacker | Ohio State |
| 442 | Chicago Bears | Ronald Parker | Tight end | Texas Christian |
| 443 | San Francisco 49ers | Reggie Lewis | Defensive end | San Diego State |
| 444 | New York Giants | David Lawson | Kicker | 1975 [Air Force Falcons football team|Air Force] |
| 445 | Kansas City Chiefs | Dennis Anderson | Punter | Arizona |
| 446 | Denver Broncos | John Huddleston | Linebacker | Utah |
| 447 | Detroit Lions | Craig McCurdy | Linebacker | William & Mary |
| 448 | Buffalo Bills | Gary Gorrell | Linebacker | Boise State |
| 449 | Baltimore Colts | Mike Fuhrman | Tight end | Memphis State |
| 450 | Miami Dolphins | Mike Green | Punter | Ohio |
| 451 | Baltimore Colts | Steve Ludwig | Center | Miami |
| 452 | Houston Oilers | Claude Johnson | Linebacker | Florida A&M |
| 453 | St. Louis Cardinals | Cecil Beaird | Wide receiver | Fisk |
| 454 | Oakland Raiders | Doug Hogan | Defensive back | USC |
| 455 | Cincinnati Bengals | George Demopoulis | Tackle | Miami |
| 456 | Los Angeles Rams | Rick Gage | Wide receiver | Arkansas Tech |
| 457 | Minnesota Vikings | Randy Hickel | Defensive back | Montana State |
| 458 | Dallas Cowboys | Rick Costanzo | Tackle | Nebraska |
| 459 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Randy Butts | Running back | Kearney State |
Round 17
| Pick # | NFL team | Player | Position | College |
| 460 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Jack Berry | Quarterback | Washington & Lee |
| 461 | Seattle Seahawks | Chris Rowland | Quarterback | Washington |
| 462 | New Orleans Saints | Scott MacDonald | Tight end | West Virginia |
| 463 | San Diego Chargers | Clarence Sanders | Linebacker | Cincinnati |
| 464 | New York Jets | Darwin Willie | Tight end | Tulane |
| 465 | Cleveland Browns | Tom Fleming | Wide receiver | Dartmouth |
| 466 | New England Patriots | Todd Anderson | Center | Stanford |
| 467 | Green Bay Packers | Ray Hall | Tight end | Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo |
| 468 | Atlanta Falcons | Tony Green | Defensive back | Texas Tech |
| 469 | Chicago Bears | Mike Malham | Linebacker | Arkansas State |
| 470 | Philadelphia Eagles | Anthony Terry | Defensive back | California-Davis |
| 471 | New York Giants | Steve Curnutte | Defensive back | Vanderbilt |
| 472 | Kansas City Chiefs | Pat McNeil | Running back | Baylor |
| 473 | San Francisco 49ers | Darryl Jenkins | Running back | San Jose State |
| 474 | Denver Broncos | Randy Cozens | Defensive end | Pittsburgh |
| 475 | Detroit Lions | Jim Meeks | Defensive back | Boise State |
| 476 | Washington Redskins | Chuck Wills | Defensive back | Oregon |
| 477 | Buffalo Bills | Bob Berg | Kicker | New Mexico |
| 478 | Oakland Raiders | Buddy Tate | Defensive back | Tulsa |
| 479 | Houston Oilers | Allen Misher | Wide receiver | Louisiana State |
| 480 | Miami Dolphins | Jeff Grantz | Quarterback | South Carolina |
| 481 | Oakland Raiders | Nate Beasley | Running back | Delaware |
| 482 | Cincinnati Bengals | Scott Dannelley | Guard | Ohio State |
| 483 | St. Louis Cardinals | Dan Myers | Defensive back | Georgia Tech |
| 484 | Minnesota Vikings | Rich Lukowski | Defensive tackle | West Virginia |
| 485 | Los Angeles Rams | Gary Shaw | Defensive back | Brigham Young |
| 486 | Dallas Cowboys | Stan Woodfill | Kicker | Oregon |
| 487 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Kelvin Kirk | Wide receiver | Dayton |
Notable undrafted players
Hall of Famers
- Steve Largent, wide receiver from Tulsa, taken 4th round 117th overall by Houston Oilers
- Lee Roy Selmon, defensive end from Oklahoma, taken 1st round 1st overall by Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Mike Haynes, cornerback from Arizona State, taken 1st round 5th overall by New England Patriots
- Jackie Slater, offensive tackle from Jackson State, taken 3rd round 86th overall by Los Angeles Rams
- Harry Carson, linebacker from South Carolina State, taken 4th round 105th overall by New York Giants