2016 AFL draft

The 2016 AFL draft consisted of the various periods where the 18 clubs in the Australian Football League could trade and recruit players following the completion of the AFL season">Australian Football League">AFL season. Additions to each club's playing list are not allowed at any other time during the year.
The key dates for the trading and drafting periods were:

The free agency offer period; held between 7 October and 19 October. Three further free agency periods were held for delisted players, between 1 November and 8 November, 10 November to 18 November, and 26 November to 27 November,
The trade period; held between 10 October and 20 October,
The 2016 national draft; held on 25 November, at the Hordern Pavilion, which included live bidding for academy and father-son selections.
The 2017 pre-season draft; which was to be held on 28 November, but was cancelled when all clubs declined to take part, and
The 2017 rookie draft; which was held on 28 November.

Player movements

Previous trades

The 2015 AFL draft included a new initiative whereby clubs could trade future picks; through this scheme, fourteen picks in the 2016 draft were traded prior to the commencement of the 2016 trade period:

Round	Original club	New club	How acquired	Ref
1			Adam Treloar trade
1			via on-traded to for Lamb, Phillips, Plowman, Sumner
1			Pick swap
2			Curtly Hampton trade
2			Pick swap
2			Charlie Dixon trade
2			Charlie Dixon trade
2			via on-traded to for James Aish
3			Jarrad Jansen and Josh Walker trade
3			Ryan Bastinac trade
3			Pick swap
4			Pick swap
4			Michael Talia trade
5			Steve Johnson trade

Trades

;Note:

The numbering of the draft picks in this list may be different to the agreed draft picks at the time of the trade, due to adjustments from either the insertion of free agency compensation draft picks or clubs exiting the draft before later rounds.

Free agency

Player	Date	Free agent type	Former club	New club	Compensation	Ref
	10 October 2016	Restricted			2nd round
	11 October 2016	Unrestricted			2nd round
	12 October 2016	Unrestricted			2nd round
	16 October 2016	Restricted			-
	4 November 2016	Delisted
	4 November 2016	Delisted
	8 November 2016	Delisted
	8 November 2016	Delisted
	15 November 2016	Delisted

;Note:

Due to James Kelly and Matt Dea being signed as top up players because of the 2012 Essendon supplements saga, they had to be delisted and then re-signed in order to stay on Essendon's list.

Retirements and delistings

List of 2016 AFL player changes

2016 national draft

The received a priority pick at the end of the first round after a request by the club to the AFL commission was accepted. It was the first time a priority pick was given to a club since the rules regarding priority selections were changed in 2012. This pick was later on-traded to as part of the Pearce Hanley trade to, before the Sydney Swans ended up with it by the trade deadline.
A change was made to the rules concerning academy and father-son selections which allowed clubs to begin the draft with only as many draft picks as it had empty positions on its playing list. This was intended to end the practice which had taken place the previous year in which clubs with academies had traded down the draft order to accumulate a large number of mid- and low-range draft picks specifically to use on academy bids.

Round	Pick	Player	Drafted to	Recruited from	League	Notes
1	1			Sandringham Dragons	TAC Cup
1	2			Sandringham Dragons	TAC Cup	Traded from
1	3			North Ballarat Rebels	TAC Cup	Traded from ; received from
1	4			Gippsland Power	TAC Cup
1	5			Sandringham Dragons	TAC Cup	Academy player, Carlton's bid matched with picks 15 and 37.
1	6				WAFL
1	7			Sandringham Dragons	TAC Cup	Traded from
1	8				WAFL	Traded from ; received from
1	9			Murray Bushrangers	TAC Cup	Traded from
1	10			Cairns	AFL Cairns	Academy player, Sydney's bid matched with pick 11.
1	11			Sandringham Dragons	TAC Cup	Traded from
1	12			Murray Bushrangers	TAC Cup
1	13			Western Jets	TAC Cup
1	14			Collingullie-Glenfield Park	RFNL	Academy player, Adelaide's bid matched with picks 38, 44 and 51.
1	15			Eastern Ranges	TAC Cup
1	16			Murray Bushrangers	TAC Cup	Traded from ; received from
1	17			North Ballarat Rebels	TAC Cup	Traded from ; received from ; received from
1	18				WAFL	Traded from
1	19				WAFL
1	20			North Broken Hill	BHFL	Academy player, Sydney's bid matched with picks 52, 54, 55 and 56.
Priority	21				SANFL	Traded from ; received from
2	22			Oakleigh Chargers	TAC Cup
2	23			Geelong Falcons	TAC Cup
2	24			North Ballarat Rebels	TAC Cup	Traded from ; received from
2	25				NEAFL	Traded from ; received from ; free agency compensation pick
2	26				NEAFL	Traded from ; received from
2	27				WAFL
2	28			Northern Knights	TAC Cup	Traded from ; received from
2	29				WAFL	Free agency compensation pick
2	30			Oakleigh Chargers	TAC Cup
2	31			Eastern Ranges	TAC Cup	Traded from
2	32			Bendigo Pioneers	TAC Cup	Traded from ; received from
2	33			North Ballarat Rebels	TAC Cup	Traded from ; received from ; received from ; received from ; received from
2	34				NEAFL	Academy eligible, but the did not match the bid
2	35			Eastern Ranges	TAC Cup	Father–son rule selection ; North Melbourne's bid matched with pick 44.
2	36			Surfers Paradise	QAFL	Free agency compensation pick
2	37				WAFL
2	38			Geelong Falcons	TAC Cup	Traded from, received from ; received from ; received from ; received from
2	39			Dandenong Stingrays	TAC Cup	Traded from
2	40				VFL
2	41				SANFL	Traded from
3	42			Bendigo Pioneers	TAC Cup	Academy eligible, but did not match the bid
3	43			Murray Bushrangers	TAC Cup	Traded from
3	44			Dandenong Stingrays	TAC Cup	Traded from ; received from ; received from
3	45			Eastern Ranges	TAC Cup	Traded from
3	46				VFL	Traded from
3	47			Henty	HFL	Academy eligible, but did not match the bid; traded from ; received from
3	48				WAFL	Traded from
3	49				SANFL	Traded from
3	50			Bendigo Pioneers	TAC Cup	Traded from ; received from ; received from ; received from
3	51				NEAFL
3	52				SANFL	Traded from
3	53				SANFL	Traded from
4	54			Murray Bushrangers	TAC Cup	Academy player, traded from ; received from
4	55				NEAFL	Academy player
4	56			Oakleigh Chargers	TAC Cup	Traded from, received from
4	57			Oakleigh Chargers	TAC Cup	Father–son rule selection ; traded from
4	58				AFL
4	59			Sandringham Dragons	TAC Cup	Traded from ; received from ; received from ; received from
4	60				WAFL	Traded from
4	61			North Ballarat Rebels	TAC Cup	Traded from ; received from
4	62			Northern Knights	TAC Cup	Traded from ; received from
4	63			Eastern Ranges	TAC Cup	Traded from ; received ; received from
4	64			Oakleigh Chargers	TAC Cup	Traded from ; received from
4	65			Oakleigh Chargers	TAC Cup	Traded from ; received from
4	66				VFL	Traded from, received from
4	67			Palm Beach Currumbin	QAFL	Academy player
4	68				VFL	Traded from ; received from
4	69			Grovedale	GFL
4	70			Bendigo Pioneers	TAC Cup	Traded from
5	71			Sandringham Dragons	TAC Cup	Traded from, received from
5	72			Murray Bushrangers	TAC Cup	Academy eligible, but did not match the bid
5	73			Oakleigh Chargers	TAC Cup
5	74			Murray Bushrangers	TAC Cup	Traded from
5	75			UNSW	Sydney AFL	Academy eligible, but Sydney did not match the bid
5	76			Calder Cannons	TAC Cup
6	77				WAFL	Father–son rule selection

; Notes

Free agency compensation picks are additional selections awarded to teams based on their net loss of players during the free agency trade period.
Academy players are local zone selections available to the four New South Wales and Queensland clubs. Both academy and father-son selections are subject to a bidding process, where the club with the family or academy connection must match any opposition club's bid with their next available selection.

Rookie elevations

Clubs were able to promote any player who was listed on their rookie list in 2016 to their 2017 primary playing list prior to the draft.

Player	Club	Ref.

2017 rookie draft

Category B rookie selections

During the trade period, clubs could nominate category B rookies to join their club.

Player	Club	Origin	Note	Ref.
			Winner of The Recruit
			Queensland zone selection
		Cork GAA,	International selection
		Essendon (VFL)	Next Generation Academy zone selection
		Kerry GAA	International selection
		Palm Beach Currumbin	Queensland zone selection
		Athletics	3-year non-registered player
		Murray Bushrangers	NSW zone selection
		Meath GAA	International selection
		Townsville Crocodiles	3-year non-registered player
			Next Generation Academy zone selection
		Westmeath GAA	International selection
		Kilkenny GAA	International selection
			NSW zone selection
			Next Generation Academy zone selection
			Next Generation Academy zone selection
		Eastern Ranges	Next Generation Academy zone selection