The 1999 NFL draft was the procedure by which

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

teams selected amateur

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

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 v ...

was held April 17–18,

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, at

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

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. The league also held a supplemental draft after the regular draft and before the regular season. Five quarterbacks were selected in the first round —

Tim Couch Timothy Scott Couch (born July 31, 1977) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for five seasons with the Cleveland Browns. He played college football for the ...

Donovan McNabb Donovan Jamal McNabb (born November 25, 1976) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the Philadelphia Eagles. He played college ...

, Akili Smith,

Daunte Culpepper Daunte Rachard Culpepper (born January 28, 1977) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons, primarily with the Minnesota Vikings. He played college football for the U ...

, and

Cade McNown Cade Brem McNown (born January 12, 1977) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for four seasons. He played college football for the UCLA Bruins, winning the Johnny Unitas Award ...

— the second highest amount (along with the

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

and

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

drafts) after the six selected in

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

and

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

. The draft also marked the second time after

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

that the first three selections were quarterbacks. Only McNabb and Culpepper would have successful careers, while Couch, Smith, and McNown are generally regarded as

draft bust A draft is a process used in some countries (especially in North America) and sports (especially in closed leagues) to allocate certain players to teams. In a draft, teams take turns selecting from a pool of eligible players. When a team selec ...

s. McNabb, the most successful of the five, was also the only to appear in a

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

. In addition to the quarterback selections, the draft is known for the Ricky Williams trade, which saw the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

trade all six of their draft picks to 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

to select running back Ricky Williams fifth overall. New Orleans finished with a 3–13 record following the trade and Williams struggled as a rookie, resulting in the firing of Saints head coach

Mike Ditka Michael Keller Ditka ( ; born Michael Dyczko; October 18, 1939) is an American former professional American football, football player, coach, and television commentator. During his playing career, he was UPI NFL-NFC Rookie of the Year, UPI NFL R ...

and general manager Bill Kuharich. The following is the breakdown of the 253 players selected by

position Position often refers to: * Position (geometry), the spatial location (rather than orientation) of an entity * Position, a job or occupation Position may also refer to: Games and recreation * Position (poker), location relative to the dealer * ...

Player selections

Notable undrafted players

Trades

In the explanations below, (PD) indicates trades completed prior to the start of the draft (i.e. Pre-Draft), while (D) denotes trades that took place during the 1999 draft. ;Round one ;Round two ;Round three ;Round four ;Round five ;Round six ;Round seven

Forfeited picks

Two selections in the 1999 draft were forfeited:

Supplemental draft

A supplemental draft was held in the summer of 1999. For each player selected in the supplemental draft, the team forfeits its pick in that round in the draft of the following season. The New England Patriots were the only team to select a player, selecting cornerback J'Juan Cherry from Arizona State in the 4th round.

Hall of Famers

* Champ Bailey, cornerback from Georgia taken 1st round 7th overall by the Washington Redskins. :Inducted: Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2019. * Edgerrin James, running back from Miami (FL) taken 1st round 4th overall by the Indianapolis Colts. :Inducted: Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2020.

References

;Trade references ;General references

Notes

External links

*
NFL.com – 1999 Draft
*
Pro Football Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:1999 Nfl Draft NFL draft

NFL Draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

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 v ...

American football in New York City 1990s in Manhattan Sporting events in New York City