1968 NFL Draft
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The 1968
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 ...
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 part of the common draft, in the second year in which the NFL and
AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...
held a joint draft of college players. It took place at the Belmont Plaza 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 ...
on January 30–31, 1968. The
Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...
acquired the first overall pick in the draft through a trade with the
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
in March 1967 for quarterback
Fran Tarkenton Francis Asbury Tarkenton (born February 3, 1940) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Minnesota Vikings. He played college football at ...
. When establishing the common draft between the NFL and AFL, the Giants were able to negotiate that they would receive the option to pick first in either the
1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...
or 1968 NFL/AFL drafts, regardless of the presence of an expansion team or their own record from the previous season. They traded this "special wild card" pick in the Tarkenton trade, and the Vikings chose to exercise it in 1968. The expansion
Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...
picked second. The Vikings used the first overall pick to select offensive tackle
Ron Yary Anthony Ronald Yary (born July 16, 1946) is an American former professional football player who played as an offensive tackle primarily for the Minnesota Vikings and also for the Los Angeles Rams in the National Football League (NFL). He was ...
. This was the last draft until
1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...
in which the
Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
exercised their first-round pick. Most of them were traded away by coach
George Allen George Allen may refer to: Politics and law * George E. Allen (1896–1973), American political operative and one-time head coach of the Cumberland University football team * George Allen (Australian politician) (1800–1877), Mayor of Sydney and ...
between 1971 and 1977 due to Allen's well-known preference for veteran players over rookies.


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


Round thirteen


Round fourteen


Round fifteen


Round sixteen


Round seventeen


Hall of Famers

*
Larry Csonka Larry Richard Csonka (; born December 25, 1946) is a former professional American football fullback who played for the Miami Dolphins for the majority of his career, along with the New York Giants for three years, and a short stint with the Mem ...
, running back from Syracuse, taken 1st round 8th overall by AFL's Miami Dolphins :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1987.List of 1980s Hall of Fame Inductee's at profootballhof.com *
Art Shell Arthur Lee Shell Jr. (born November 26, 1946) is an American former professional football player in the American Football League (AFL) and later in the National Football League (NFL), a Hall of Fame offensive tackle and a two-time former head co ...
, offensive tackle from Maryland Eastern Shore, taken 3rd round 80th overall by AFL's Oakland Raiders :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1989. *
Ron Yary Anthony Ronald Yary (born July 16, 1946) is an American former professional football player who played as an offensive tackle primarily for the Minnesota Vikings and also for the Los Angeles Rams in the National Football League (NFL). He was ...
, offensive tackle from Southern California, taken 1st round 1st overall by Minnesota Vikings :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2001.List of 2000s Hall of Fame Inductee's at profootballhof.com *
Elvin Bethea Elvin Lamont Bethea (born March 1, 1946) is a former American football defensive end who played his entire career with the Houston Oilers. He played for North Carolina A&T State University and was the first person from that school to be elected t ...
, offensive tackle from North Carolina A&T, taken 3rd round 77th overall by AFL's Houston Oilers :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2003. *
Charlie Sanders Charles Alvin Sanders (August 25, 1946 July 2, 2015) was an American professional football player who was a tight end for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) from 1968 to 1977. Sanders was chosen for the NFL's 1970s All ...
, tight end from Minnesota, taken 3rd round 74th overall by Detroit Lions :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2007. *
Curley Culp Curley Culp (March 10, 1946 – November 27, 2021) was an American football defensive lineman who was a defensive tackle in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Arizona State Unive ...
, defensive tackle from Arizona State, taken 2nd round 31st overall by AFL's Denver Broncos :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2013. *
Claude Humphrey Claude B. Humphrey (June 29, 1944 – December 3, 2021) was an American professional football player who played as a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Atlanta Falcons and Philadelphia Eagles. Humphrey was inducted into t ...
, defensive end from Tennessee State, taken 1st round 3rd overall by Atlanta Falcons :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2014. *
Ken Stabler Kenneth Michael Stabler (December 25, 1945 – July 8, 2015) was an American professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons, primarily with the Oakland Raiders. Nicknamed "Snake", he played col ...
, quarterback from Alabama, taken 2nd round 52nd overall by AFL's Oakland Raiders :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2016.
List of Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees The Pro Football Hall of Fame includes players, coaches, and contributors (e.g., owners, general managers and team or league officials) who have "made outstanding contributions to professional football". The charter class of seventeen was selected ...


Notable undrafted players


References


External links


NFL.com – 1968 Draft



Pro Football Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:1968 Nfl Draft National Football League Draft
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 ...
Draft NFL
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 ...