The 1988 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 College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. 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 24–25,

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

, at the Marriot Marquis 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. With the first overall pick of the draft, the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

selected linebacker

Aundray Bruce Aundray Bruce (born April 30, 1966) is a former American football player. He played outside linebacker and tight end as a pro. As a college football player he played defensive end at Auburn University before playing for the Atlanta Falcons and L ...

. Notably, the first player selected at the

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

position did not come until the third round (68th overall) with

Tom Tupa Thomas Joseph Tupa Jr. (born February 6, 1966) is a former American football punter and quarterback in the National Football League. Personal life and high school career As a child, Tupa participated in the NFL's Punt, Pass, and Kick contest, ...

(by the

Phoenix Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

), who was also selected because of his ability as a punter. This is the last draft in which the first quarterback was selected this late. In fact, only one draft since – 1996 – has gone without a quarterback being drafted in the first round.

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

Michael Irvin Michael Jerome Irvin (born March 5, 1966) is an American sports commentator and former professional football wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). In 2007, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fa ...

, wide receiver from Miami, taken 1st round 11th overall by Dallas Cowboys :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2007List of 2000s Hall of Fame Inductees at profootballhof.com *

Randall McDaniel Randall Cornell McDaniel (born December 19, 1964) is an American former football player who played as a guard in the National Football League (NFL). Early career McDaniel played high school football and ran track at Agua Fria High School in Av ...

, offensive guard from Arizona State, taken 1st round 19th overall by Minnesota Vikings :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2009 *

Thurman Thomas Thurman Lee Thomas (born May 16, 1966) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for thirteen seasons, primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He was selected by the Bills in the second round of th ...

, running back from Oklahoma State, taken 2nd round 40th overall by Buffalo Bills :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2007 *

Dermontti Dawson Dermontti Farra Dawson (born June 17, 1965) is an American former professional football player who was a center and long snapper in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football with the Kentucky Wildcats. He was drafted by t ...

, center from Kentucky, taken 2nd round 44th overall by Pittsburgh Steelers :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2012 *

Tim Brown Timothy, Timmy, or Tim Brown may refer to: Music * Timothy Brown (bassist) (born 1969), bassist for the band The Boo Radleys * Timothy Brown (conductor) (born 1946), English choral conductor * Timothy Brown (hornist), English hornist Sports Gridir ...

, wide receiver from Notre Dame, taken 1st round 6th overall by Los Angeles Raiders :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2015

Notable undrafted players

References

External links

NFL.com – 1988 Draft

Pro Football Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:1988 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 ...