The 2016 NFL draft was the 81st annual draft of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago.[1] The draft began on Thursday, April 28 with the first round, and ended on Saturday, April 30. The Tennessee Titans, the team with the fewest wins in the NFL for the 2015 season, traded the right to the top pick in the draft to the Los Angeles Rams, the first time the top pick was traded before the draft since 2001 when the San Diego Chargers traded their first pick to the Atlanta Falcons. Ohio State became the second school to have three players drafted in the top ten and to have five players drafted in the first round.
Ninety-six underclassmen announced their intention to enter the 2016 NFL draft as underclassmen, which primarily includes juniors and redshirt sophomores who are forgoing future years of college eligibility.[2] In order to be eligible to enter the draft, players must be at least 3 years removed from high school. The deadline for underclassmen to declare for the draft was January 18, 2016.
Overview
The following is the breakdown of the 253 players selected by position:
Quarterbacks Jared Goff and Carson Wentz, taken as the top two picks in the draft, have made the Pro Bowl and helped both of their initial teams to Super Bowl appearances however both have since been traded.
Defensive tackles Kenny Clark (27th overall by Green Bay) and Chris Jones (37th overall by Kansas City) have been named to multiple Pro Bowls.
Michael Thomas (top, 47th pick overall by New Orleans) set the record for most receptions by a wide receiver in a single season in 2019, while Tyreek Hill (bottom, 165th selection overall by Kansas City) has been named to six Pro Bowls and the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team.
(PD) indicates trades completed prior to the start of the draft (i.e. Pre-Draft), while (D) denotes trades which took place during the 2016 draft.
Round one
^No. 1: Tennessee → Los Angeles (PD).Tennessee traded its first-, fourth-, and sixth-round selections (1st, 113th, and 177th) to Los Angeles in exchange for Los Angeles's first-round, two second-round, and third-round selections in this year's draft (15th, 43rd, 45th, and 76th) as well as Los Angeles's first- and third-round selections in the 2017 NFL draft.[source 1]
^No. 2: Cleveland → Philadelphia (PD).Cleveland traded this selection (2nd) and a conditional fifth-round selection in 2017 (this selection would be upgraded to a compensatory fourth-round selection if the Browns receive one in 2017) to Philadelphia in exchange for Philadelphia's first-round, third-round, and fourth-round selections in this years draft (8th, 77th, and 100th) as well as Philadelphia's first-round selection in the 2017 NFL draft and second-round selection in the 2018 NFL draft.[source 2]
^No. 9: Tampa Bay → Chicago (D).Tampa Bay traded its first-round selections (9th) to Chicago in exchange for Chicago's first- and fourth-round selections (11th and 106th).[source 4]
^No. 21: Washington → Houston (D).Washington traded its first-round selection (21st) to Houston in exchange for Houston's first-round selection (22nd) and their 2017 sixth-round selection.[source 4]
^No. 26: Seattle → Denver (D).Seattle traded its first-round selection (26th) to Denver in exchange for Denver's first- and third-round selections (31st and 94th).[source 5]
^No. 28: Kansas City → San Francisco (D).Kansas City traded its first-round selection (28th) and seventh-round selection (249th) to San Francisco in exchange for San Francisco's second-, fourth-, and sixth-round selections (37th, 105th, and 178th).[source 6]
^No. 36: Baltimore → Jacksonville (D).Baltimore traded its second-round selection (36th) to Jacksonville in exchange for Jacksonvilles's second- and fifth-round selections (38th and 146th).[source 8]
^No. 41: Chicago → Buffalo (D).Chicago traded its second-round selection (41st) to Buffalo in exchange for Buffalo's second- and fourth-round selections (49th and 117th). Buffalo also surrendered a 2017 fourth-round selection.[source 10]
^No. 43: multiple trades: No. 43: Philadelphia → Los Angeles (PD).Philadelphia traded its second-round selection in this year's draft, a 2015 fourth-round selection and quarterback Nick Foles to Los Angeles in exchange for Los Angeles's 2015 fifth-round selection and quarterback Sam Bradford. The trade also included a possible conditional fourth-round selection in this year's draft that Philadelphia would have received if Bradford took less than 50 percent of the snaps in 2015. Bradford took the majority of snaps for Philadelphia in 2015, so the fourth-round pick was returned to Los Angeles.[source 11] No. 43: Los Angeles → Tennessee (PD). see No. 1: Tennessee → Los Angeles.[source 1]
^No. 48: Indianapolis → Green Bay (D).Indianapolis traded its second-round selection (48th) to Green Bay in exchange for Green Bay's second-, fourth- and seventh-round selections (57th, 125th, and 248th).[source 12]
^No. 50: Atlanta → Houston (D).Atlanta traded this selection to Houston in exchange for Houston's second- and sixth-round selections (52nd and 195th).[source 4]
^No. 59: Kansas City → Tampa Bay (D).Kansas City traded this selection to Tampa Bay in exchange for Tampa Bay's third- and fourth-round selections (74th and 106th).[source 4]
^No. 86: Minnesota → Miami (D).Minnesota traded this selection to Miami in exchange for Miami's sixth-round selection (186th) and Miami's third- and fourth-round selections in 2017.[source 17]
^No. 120: Washington → New Orleans (D).Washington traded this selection to New Orleans in exchange for New Orleans' fifth-round selection (152nd) and a fifth-round selection in 2017.[source 22]
^No. 142: San Diego → San Francisco (PD).San Diego traded this selection, and its 2015 first- and fourth-round selections, to San Francisco in exchange for San Francisco's 2015 first-round selection.[source 25]
^No. 143: Dallas → Oakland (PD).Dallas conditionally traded this selection to Oakland for wide receiver Brice Butler and Oakland's 2016 sixth-round selection (189th). The pick occurred because Butler was on the Cowboys' 53-man roster for at least six games.[source 26]
^No. 147: multiple trades: No. 147: Miami → New England (D).Miami traded this selection to New England in exchange for New England's 2 sixth-round selections (196th and 204th) and a seventh-round selection (250th).[source 27] No. 147: New England → Seattle (D).New England traded this selection and a seventh-round selection (243rd) to Seattle in exchange for Seattle's sixth-round selection (225th) and a fourth-round selection in 2017.[source 28]
^No. 157: multiple trades: No. 157: New York Jets → Denver (PD).NY Jets traded this selection to Denver in exchange for Denver's seventh-round selection (235th) and offensive tackle Ryan Clady.[source 31] No. 157: Denver → Tennessee (D).Denver traded this selection and a seventh-round selection (253rd) in exchange for a sixth-round selection (176th) and a sixth-round selection in 2017.[source 32]
^No. 158: Washington → New York Jets (D).Washington traded this selection to the New York Jets in exchange for New York's fourth-round selection in 2017.[source 33]
^No. 164: Pittsburgh → Philadelphia (PD).Pittsburgh traded this conditional selection to Philadelphia in exchange for cornerback Brandon Boykin. The selection could have become a fourth round selection if Boykin played 60% of the snaps during the season.[source 35]
^No. 169: Denver → Detroit (PD).Denver traded this selection, its 2015 first- and fifth-round selections (28th & 143rd), and guard–center Manny Ramirez to Detroit in exchange for Detroit's 2015 first-round selection (23rd).[source 37]
^No. 187: New Orleans → Washington (PD).New Orleans traded this selection along with its sixth-round selection in the 2015 NFL draft (187th) to Washington in exchange for Washington's fifth-round selection.[source 15]
^No. 188: Philadelphia → Minnesota (D).Philadelphia traded this selection to Minnesota in exchange for Minnesota's sixth- and seventh-round selections (196th and 240th).[source 40]
^No. 195: multiple trades: No. 195: New York Jets → Houston (PD). The Jets traded a conditional seventh-round selection in the 2016 draft to Houston in exchange for quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. The pick can become a sixth-round selection based on Fitzpatrick's playing time.[source 43] No. 195: Houston → Atlanta (D). see No. 50: Atlanta → Houston.[source 4]
^No. 229: New York Giants → Pittsburgh (PD). The Giants traded a conditional seventh-round selection in the 2016 draft to Pittsburgh in exchange for punter Brad Wing.[source 54]
^No. 243: multiple trades: No. 243: Houston → New England (PD).Houston traded its seventh–round selection in the 2016 draft to New England in exchange for quarterback Ryan Mallett. The pick could have been a sixth–round selection but Mallett did not play 40% of the snaps in 2014.[source 58] No. 243: New England → Seattle (D). see No. 147: New England → Seattle.[source 28]
^No. 251: Arizona → Philadelphia (PD).Arizona traded this selection to Philadelphia in exchange for quarterback Matt Barkley on the condition that Barkley was on the roster for six games.[source 59]
^New England forfeited its first-round selection as a result of Deflategate. The team will also forfeit a 2017 fourth-round selection.[source 7]
^Kansas City forfeited its third-round selection for violating the NFL's Anti-Tampering policy. The team will also forfeit a 2017 sixth-round selection and pay a $250,000 fine.[source 18]
The 2016 supplemental draft was held on July 14, 2016. For each player selected in the supplemental draft, the team forfeits its pick in that round in the draft of the following season. This year, six players were eligible for selection:[6]