The 1979 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 May 3–4, 1979, at the

Waldorf Astoria Hotel Waldorf can have the following meanings: People * William Waldorf Astor, 1st Viscount Astor (1848–1919), financier and statesman * Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor (1879–1952), businessman and politician * Pappy Waldorf (1902–1981), 1966 ...

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

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

held the first overall pick in the draft, acquired from the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

in the trade which sent O. J. Simpson to his hometown team. The Bills' selection at No. 1,

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

linebacker

Tom Cousineau Thomas Michael Cousineau (born May 6, 1957) is an American former college and professional football player who was a linebacker in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons during the 1970s and 1980s. ...

, refused to sign with the Bills and instead inked a lucrative deal with the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

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

Kellen Winslow Kellen Boswell Winslow Sr. (born November 5, 1957) is an American former professional football player in the National Football League (NFL). A member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame (1995), he is widely recognized as one of the greatest tight ...

, tight end from Missouri, taken 1st round 13th overall by San Diego Chargers :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1995.List of 1990s Hall of Fame Inductee's at profootballhof.com *

Joe Montana Joseph Clifford Montana Jr. (born June 11, 1956) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the San Francisco 49ers. Nicknamed "Joe Cool" and "the Comeback Kid", ...

, quarterback from Notre Dame, taken 3rd round 82nd overall by San Francisco 49ers :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2000.List of 2000s Hall of Fame Inductee's at profootballhof.com *

Dan Hampton Daniel Oliver Hampton (born September 19, 1957) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive lineman for twelve seasons with the Chicago Bears from 1979 to 1990 in the National Football League (NFL). He was elected ...

, defensive tackle from Arkansas, taken 1st round 4th overall by Chicago Bears :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2002. *

Bill Cowher William Laird Cowher (born May 8, 1957) is an American sports analyst, former football player and coach. Following a six-year playing career as a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL), he served as a head coach in the NFL for 15 se ...

, linebacker from North Carolina State, undrafted and signed by Philadelphia Eagles :Inducted: For his Coaching achievements Professional Football Hall of Fame Class of 2020.

Notable undrafted players

References

External links

NFL.com – 1979 Draft

Pro Football Hall of Fame

{{DEFAULTSORT:1979 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 ...