List of first overall NFL draft picks
The NFL draft is an annual sports draft in which National Football League teams select newly eligible players for their rosters. To be eligible for the NFL draft, a player must be at least three years removed from high school. While the regulations do not explicitly require collegiate attendance, players must either exhaust their college eligibility or seek a special exemption from the league. Each NFL franchise seeks to add new players through the draft as it is the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is assigned a position in the drafting order based on the reverse of its record from the previous year. The team with the worst record selects first, followed by the team with the second-worst record, and so forth. Teams also have the option to trade with another team to move up to a better draft position. Teams that did not make the playoffs are ordered by their regular-season record, with any remaining ties broken by strength of schedule. Playoff participants are sequenced after non-playoff teams, based on their round of elimination.
From through, the first selection in the NFL draft was awarded by a random draw known as the "bonus pick." The team that received the bonus pick forfeited its selection in the final round of the draft, and once a team won, it was excluded from future draws. By the 1958 draft, all twelve league teams had received a bonus pick, leading to the system's abolition. Following this, the NFL faced competition from the American Football League, which held a separate draft prior to the merger agreements in 1966. This rivalry resulted in both leagues often drafting the same players, sparking bidding wars for top prospects. As part of the merger agreement on June 8, 1966, the two leagues adopted a unified "common draft" system. After the AFL-NFL merger was finalized in 1970, the common draft became the modern NFL draft.
Through the 2025 NFL draft, 90 players have been selected first overall, with the first being Jay Berwanger and the most recent being Cam Ward. The Indianapolis Colts and the Los Angeles Rams have each made the most first overall selections in history with seven, while the Baltimore Ravens, the Seattle Seahawks, and the Denver Broncos have never selected a player first overall. USC is the college with the most selections with 6, followed by Notre Dame, Oklahoma, and Georgia with 5. Quarterbacks are most commonly selected position with 40, followed by running backs with 23. Of the first overall draft picks, 43 have been selected to a Pro Bowl and 14 have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
List of first overall picks
; Key| K | Kicker | NT | Nose tackle | C | Center |
| LB | Linebacker | FB | Fullback | DB | Defensive back |
| P | Punter | HB | Halfback | DE | Defensive end |
| QB | Quarterback | WR/E | Wide receiver/End | DT | Defensive tackle |
| G | Guard | T | Offensive tackle | TE | Tight end |
| Year | Name | Position | College | Team | Notes | |
| 1936 | HB | Chicago | Philadelphia Eagles | Heisman Trophy | ||
| 1937 | FB | Nebraska | Philadelphia Eagles | — | ||
| 1938 | FB | Indiana | Cleveland Rams | — | ||
| 1939 | * | C | TCU | Chicago Cardinals | NFL All-Star Game | |
| 1940 | HB | Tennessee | Chicago Cardinals | — | ||
| 1941 | HB | Michigan | Chicago Bears | Heisman Trophy | ||
| 1942 | ‡ | HB | Virginia | Pittsburgh Steelers | NFL All-Star Game Pro Football Hall of Fame NFL MVP | |
| 1943 | HB | Georgia | Detroit Lions | Heisman Trophy NFL MVP | ||
| 1944 | QB | Notre Dame | Boston Yanks | Heisman Trophy | ||
| 1945 | ‡ | HB | Georgia | Chicago Cardinals | Pro Bowl Pro Football Hall of Fame NFL Champion | |
| 1946 | QB | Notre Dame | Boston Yanks | — | ||
| 1947 | HB | Oklahoma A&M | Chicago Bears | — | ||
| 1948 | * | HB, WR | Alabama | Washington Redskins | Pro Bowl | |
| 1949 | ‡ | C, LB | Penn | Philadelphia Eagles | Pro Bowl Pro Football Hall of Fame NFL Champion | |
| 1950 | * | E | Notre Dame | Detroit Lions | Heisman Trophy Pro Bowl | |
| 1951 | * | HB | SMU | New York Giants | Pro Bowl | |
| 1952 | * | QB | Vanderbilt | Los Angeles Rams | Pro Bowl | |
| 1953 | E | Georgia | San Francisco 49ers | — | ||
| 1954 | QB | Stanford | Cleveland Browns | — | ||
| 1955 | QB | Oregon | Baltimore Colts | NFL Champion | ||
| 1956 | DB | Colorado A&M | Pittsburgh Steelers | — | ||
| 1957 | ‡ | HB | Notre Dame | Green Bay Packers | Heisman Trophy Pro Bowl Pro Football Hall of Fame NFL Champion Super Bowl champion NFL MVP | |
| 1958 | QB | Rice | Chicago Cardinals | — | ||
| 1959 | QB | Iowa | Green Bay Packers | — | ||
| 1960 | HB | LSU | Los Angeles Rams | Heisman Trophy AFL Champion AFL All Star | ||
| 1961 | * | HB | Tulane | Minnesota Vikings§ | Pro Bowl | |
| 1962 | HB | Syracuse | Washington Redskins | Heisman Trophy | ||
| 1963 | QB | Oregon State | Los Angeles Rams | Heisman Trophy | ||
| 1964 | * | WR | Texas Tech | San Francisco 49ers | Pro Bowl | |
| 1965 | * | HB | Auburn | New York Giants | Pro Bowl | |
| 1966 | * | LB | Texas | Atlanta Falcons§ | Pro Bowl | |
| 1967 | * | DE | Michigan State | Baltimore Colts | Pro Bowl Super Bowl champion | |
| 1968 | ‡ | T | USC | Minnesota Vikings | Pro Bowl Pro Football Hall of Fame | |
| 1969 | ‡ | HB | USC | Buffalo Bills | Heisman Trophy Pro Bowl Pro Football Hall of Fame NFL MVP | |
| 1970 | ‡ | QB | Louisiana Tech | Pittsburgh Steelers | Pro Bowl Pro Football Hall of Fame Super Bowl champion Super Bowl MVP NFL MVP | |
| 1971 | QB | Stanford | New England Patriots | Heisman Trophy Super Bowl champion Super Bowl MVP | ||
| 1972 | DE | Notre Dame | Buffalo Bills | — | ||
| 1973 | DE | Tampa | Houston Oilers | Super Bowl champion | ||
| 1974 | * | DE | Tennessee State | Dallas Cowboys | Pro Bowl Super Bowl champion | |
| 1975 | * | QB | California | Atlanta Falcons | Pro Bowl | |
| 1976 | ‡ | DE | Oklahoma | Tampa Bay Buccaneers§ | Pro Bowl Pro Football Hall of Fame | |
| 1977 | HB | USC | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | — | ||
| 1978 | ‡ | HB | Texas | Houston Oilers | Heisman Trophy Pro Bowl Pro Football Hall of Fame NFL MVP Offensive Rookie of the Year | |
| 1979 | LB | Ohio State | Buffalo Bills | — | ||
| 1980 | * | HB | Oklahoma | Detroit Lions | Heisman Trophy Pro Bowl Offensive Rookie of the Year | |
| 1981 | * | HB | South Carolina | New Orleans Saints | Heisman Trophy Pro Bowl Super Bowl champion Offensive Rookie of the Year | |
| 1982 | DE | Texas | New England Patriots | — | ||
| 1983 | ‡ | QB | Stanford | Baltimore Colts | Pro Bowl Pro Football Hall of Fame Super Bowl champion Super Bowl MVP NFL MVP | |
| 1984 | * | WR | Nebraska | New England Patriots | Pro Bowl | |
| 1985 | ‡ | DE | Virginia Tech | Buffalo Bills | Pro Bowl Pro Football Hall of Fame | |
| 1986 | * | HB | Auburn | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Heisman Trophy Pro Bowl | |
| 1987 | * | QB | Miami | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Heisman Trophy Pro Bowl | |
| 1988 | LB | Auburn | Atlanta Falcons | — | ||
| 1989 | ‡ | QB | UCLA | Dallas Cowboys | Pro Bowl Pro Football Hall of Fame Super Bowl champion Super Bowl MVP | |
| 1990 | QB | Illinois | Indianapolis Colts | — | ||
| 1991 | * | DT | Miami | Dallas Cowboys | Pro Bowl Super Bowl champion | |
| 1992 | DE | Washington | Indianapolis Colts | — | ||
| 1993 | * | QB | Washington State | New England Patriots | Pro Bowl Super Bowl champion | |
| 1994 | DT | Ohio State | Cincinnati Bengals | — | ||
| 1995 | HB | Penn State | Cincinnati Bengals | — | ||
| 1996 | * | WR | USC | New York Jets | Pro Bowl Super Bowl champion | |
| 1997 | ‡ | T | Ohio State | St. Louis Rams | Pro Bowl Pro Football Hall of Fame Super Bowl champion | |
| 1998 | ‡ | QB | Tennessee | Indianapolis Colts | Pro Bowl Pro Football Hall of Fame Super Bowl champion Super Bowl MVP NFL MVP | |
| 1999 | QB | Kentucky | Cleveland Browns§ | — | ||
| 2000 | DE | Penn State | Cleveland Browns | — | ||
| 2001 | * | QB | Virginia Tech | Atlanta Falcons | Pro Bowl | |
| 2002 | QB | Fresno State | Houston Texans§ | Super Bowl champion | ||
| 2003 | * | QB | USC | Cincinnati Bengals | Heisman Trophy Pro Bowl | |
| 2004 | * | QB | Ole Miss | San Diego Chargers | Pro Bowl Super Bowl champion Super Bowl MVP | |
| 2005 | * | QB | Utah | San Francisco 49ers | Pro Bowl | |
| 2006 | * | DE | North Carolina State | Houston Texans | Pro Bowl | |
| 2007 | QB | LSU | Oakland Raiders | — | ||
| 2008 | * | T | Michigan | Miami Dolphins | Pro Bowl | |
| 2009 | * | QB | Georgia | Detroit Lions | Pro Bowl Super Bowl champion | |
| 2010 | QB | Oklahoma | St. Louis Rams | Heisman Trophy Offensive Rookie of the Year | ||
| 2011 | * | QB | Auburn | Carolina Panthers | Heisman Trophy Pro Bowl Offensive Rookie of the Year NFL MVP | |
| 2012 | * | QB | Stanford | Indianapolis Colts | Pro Bowl | |
| 2013 | * | T | Central Michigan | Kansas City Chiefs | Pro Bowl Super Bowl champion | |
| 2014 | * | DE | South Carolina | Houston Texans | Pro Bowl | |
| 2015 | * | QB | Florida State | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Heisman Trophy Pro Bowl | |
| 2016 | * | QB | California | Los Angeles Rams | Pro Bowl | |
| 2017 | * | DE | Texas A&M | Cleveland Browns | Pro Bowl | |
| 2018 | * | QB | Oklahoma | Cleveland Browns | Heisman Trophy Pro Bowl | |
| 2019 | * | QB | Oklahoma | Arizona Cardinals | Heisman Trophy Offensive Rookie of the Year Pro Bowl | |
| 2020 | * | QB | LSU | Cincinnati Bengals | Heisman Trophy Pro Bowl | |
| 2021 | * | QB | Clemson | Jacksonville Jaguars | Pro Bowl | |
| 2022 | DE | Georgia | Jacksonville Jaguars | — | ||
| 2023 | QB | Alabama | Carolina Panthers | Heisman Trophy | ||
| 2024 | QB | USC | Chicago Bears | Heisman Trophy | ||
| 2025 | Cam Ward | QB | Miami | Tennessee Titans | — | |
| 2026 | Las Vegas Raiders | — |