The 1998 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 18–19, 1998, at

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. 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. Before the draft, there was much debate in the media on if the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

would select

Peyton Manning Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons. Nicknamed "the Sheriff", he spent 14 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and four with th ...

Ryan Leaf Ryan David Leaf (born May 15, 1976) is a former American football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for four seasons. He played for the San Diego Chargers and the Dallas Cowboys between 1998 and 2001, and also p ...

with the first overall pick. Both were considered excellent prospects and future franchise quarterbacks: Leaf was considered to have more upside and a stronger throwing arm, whereas Manning was considered a polished prospect who was NFL ready and more mature. On the day of the draft, the Colts selected Manning due to Leaf's disdain for Indianapolis, with Leaf being selected second overall by the San Diego Chargers. Manning went on to be a five-time

Most Valuable Player Award In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

winner (the most of any player in NFL history) and was a two-time Super Bowl champion (in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

with the Colts and in 2015 with the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

), being inducted into the Pro Football Hall Of Fame in 2021, while Leaf was out of the NFL by 2002 and is considered one of the biggest draft busts in NFL history.

Player selections

Supplemental draft

was held in the summer of 1998. For each player selected in the supplemental draft, the team forfeits its pick in that round in the draft of the following season. The Green Bay Packers and San Diego Chargers both selected players in the 2nd round.

Notable undrafted players

Hall of Famers

Randy Moss Randy Gene Moss (born February 13, 1977) is an American former professional football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots, Tennessee ...

, wide receiver from Marshall, taken 1st round 21st overall by the Minnesota Vikings. :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame Class of 2018. *

, quarterback from Tennessee, taken 1st round 1st overall by the Indianapolis Colts. :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame Class of 2021. * Charles Woodson, cornerback from Michigan, taken 1st round 4th overall by the Oakland Raiders. :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame Class of 2021. *

Alan Faneca Alan Joseph Faneca (; born December 7, 1976) is an American former professional football player who was a guard in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons. He played college football for Louisiana State University (LSU), and earned ...

, guard from LSU, taken 1st round 26th overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers. :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame Class of 2021.

Trades

In the explanations below, (D) denotes trades that took place during the 1994 Draft, while (PD) indicates trades completed pre-draft. ;Round one ;Round two ;Round three ;Round four ;Round five ;Round six ;Round seven

Notes

References

External links

1998 NFL draft
{{DEFAULTSORT:1998 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 ...

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 ...

Madison Square Garden