The 1985 NFL draft was the procedure by which

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

teams selected amateur college football players. The

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vesse ...

was held April 30 and May 1, 1985, at the Omni Park Central Hotel in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, New York. The league also held a

supplemental draft The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...

after the regular draft and before the regular season. The first six selections of the draft made at least one

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

, and three of the first 16 picks —

Bruce Smith Bruce Bernard Smith (born June 18, 1963) is an American former football defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 19 seasons, primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He played college football at Virginia Tech, where he was ...

Chris Doleman Christopher John Doleman (October 16, 1961 – January 28, 2020) was an American professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). He spent the majority of his career with the Minnesota Vikings, and also ...

, and

Jerry Rice Jerry Lee Rice (born October 13, 1962) is an American former professional football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. Known primarily as a member of the San Francisco 49ers, winning three championsh ...

— have been inducted into the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coa ...

. For the second consecutive draft, there were no quarterbacks chosen in the first round (Day One). The Buffalo Bills used the first overall pick of the draft to select defensive end Bruce Smith.

Randall Cunningham Randall Wade Cunningham Sr. (born March 27, 1963) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. He spent the majority of his career with the Philadelphia Eagles and is also known for ...

was the first quarterback selected (second round) by the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

. Of note,

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...

quarterback

Bernie Kosar Bernard Joseph Kosar Jr. (born November 25, 1963) is a former American football quarterback who played collegiately at the University of Miami where he led the team to a national championship in 1983. He subsequently played professionally in ...

was taken by the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...

in the supplemental draft several months later.

Player selections

Round one

Round two

Round three

Round four

Round five

Round six

Round seven

Round eight

Round nine

Round ten

Round eleven

Round twelve

Hall of Famers

, defensive end from Virginia Tech, taken in 1st round 1st overall by Buffalo Bills :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2009.List of 2000s Hall of Fame Inductee's at profootballhof.com *

, wide receiver from Mississippi Valley State, taken in 1st round 16th overall by San Francisco 49ers :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2010.Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2010 announced *

, defensive end from Pittsburgh, taken in 1st round 4th overall by Minnesota Vikings :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2012. * Andre Reed, wide receiver from Kutztown, taken in 4th round 86th overall by Buffalo Bills :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2014. * Kevin Greene, linebacker from Auburn, taken in 5th round 113rd overall by Los Angeles Rams :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2016.

Notable undrafted players

Notes and references

External links

NFL.com – 1985 Draft

Pro Football Hall of Fame

Bruce Smith elected to Professional Football Hall of Fame

{{DEFAULTSORT:1985 Nfl Draft National Football League Draft

NFL Draft The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...

Draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vesse ...