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 majo ...

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 in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 18–19,

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

, at

the Theater at Madison Square Garden The Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden is a theater located in New York City's Madison Square Garden. It seats between 2,000 and 5,600, and is used for concerts, shows, sports, meetings, and other events. It is located beneath the main Madis ...

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. The league also held a supplemental draft 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 ...

or Ryan Leaf 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 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 votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...

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 headquar ...

), 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

A 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, Tennesse ...

, 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 Charles Cameron Woodson (born October 7, 1976) is a former American football defensive back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Oakland Raiders and Green Bay Packers. He played college football at Michiga ...

, 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 earne ...

, 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

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