April 28, 2016
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Since the National Football League began drafting players in 1936 — starting with the initial draft on February 8, 1936, at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Philadelphia — Notre Dame football players have been selected by NFL teams on 485 occasions. The total rises to 546 selections to the professional ranks when you include the AFL (37) and AAFC (24) drafts.
- Notre Dame’s 485 players drafted is the second-most of any school. USC is tops on the list with 489.
- Sixty-four Notre Dame players have been selected in the first round of the NFL Draft. Only USC (79) and Ohio State (71) have had more.
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- Notre Dame had a school record four players chosen in the first round of the 1946 and 1993 drafts, respectively
- The Irish have had five players (tied with USC for most) chosen as the first pick in the entire draft–QB Angelo Bertelli by Boston in 1944, QB Frank Dancewicz by Boston in 1946, E Leon Hart by Detroit in 1950, B Paul Hornung by Green Bay in 1957 and DT Walt Patulski by Buffalo in 1972.
- In 1936, Bill Shakespeare was not only the first Notre Dame player drafted into the NFL but also the program’s inaugural first-round selection (third overall to the Pittsburgh Steelers).
Most Picks by School
Picks | School | No. 1 Picks | First-Rounders | First-Rounders (2010s) |
489 | USC | 5 | 79 | 5 |
485 | Notre Dame | 5 | 64 | 4 |
417 | Ohio State | 3 | 71 | 1 |
374 | Oklahoma | 3 | 43 | 5 |
353 | Nebraska | 3 | 33 | 2 |
348 | Michigan | 2 | 44 | 2 |
338 | Penn State | 2 | 36 | 1 |
337 | Texas | 3 | 43 | 2 |
336 | Tennessee | 2 | 44 | 4 |
325 | Miami, Fla. | 2 | 61 | 2 |
- Here’s a listing of first-round selections by current NFL teams with the overall pick in parentheses:
1936 | B Bill Shakespeare, Pittsburgh Pirates (3) |
1944 | QB Angelo Bertelli, Boston Yanks (1) |
B Creighton Miller, Brooklyn Dodgers (3) | |
1945 | B Frank Szymanski, Detroit Lions (6) |
E John Yonakor, Philadelphia Eagles (9) | |
1946 | QB Frank Dancewicz, Boston Yanks (1) |
QB John Lujack, Chicago Bears (4) | |
T George Connor, New York Giants (5) | |
B Emil Sitko, Los Angeles Rams (10) | |
1949 | QB Frank Tripucka, Philadelphia (9) |
G Bill Fischer, Chicago Cardinals (10) | |
1950 | E Leon Hart, Detroit Lions (1) |
1951 | B Bob Williams, Chicago Bears (2) |
C Jerry Groom, Chicago Cardinals (6) | |
1954 | T Art Hunter, Green Bay Packers (3) |
B John Lattner, Pittsburgh Steelers (7) | |
B Neil Worden, Philadelphia Eagles (9) | |
1955 | QB Ralph Guglielmi, Washington Redskins (3) |
T Frank Varrichione, Pittsburgh Steelers (6) | |
B Joe Heap, New York Giants (8) | |
1957 | B Paul Hornung, Green Bay Packers (1) |
1959 | B Nick Pietrosante, Detroit Lions (6) |
1960 | QB George Izo, St. Louis Cardinals (2) |
E Monty Stickles, San Francisco 49ers (11) | |
1965 | WR Jack Snow, Minnesota Vikings (8) |
1967 | DT Alan Page, Minnesota Vikings (15) |
G Tom Regner, Houston Oilers (23) | |
G Tom Seiler, New York Jets (12) | |
1968 | DE Kevin Hardy, New Orleans Saints (7) |
1969 | T George Kunz, Atlanta Falcons (2) |
E Jim Seymour, Los Angeles Rams (10) | |
1970 | DT Mike McCoy, Green Bay Packers (2) |
1972 | DE Walt Patulski, Buffalo Bills (1) |
DB Clarence Ellis, Atlanta Falcons (15) | |
DT Mike Kadish, Miami Dolphins (25) | |
1975 | DT Mike Fanning, Los Angeles Rams (9) |
1976 | DT Steve Niehaus, Seattle Seahawks (2) |
1978 | TE Ken MacAfee, San Francisco 49ers (7) |
DE Ross Browner, Cincinnati Bengals (8) | |
DB Luther Bradley, Detroit Lions (11) | |
1980 | RB Vagas Ferguson, New England Patriots (25) |
1982 | LB Bob Crable, New York Jets (23) |
1983 | TE Tony Hunter, Buffalo Bills (12) |
1984 | RB Greg Bell, Buffalo Bills (26) |
1986 | DT Eric Dorsey, New York Giants (19) |
1988 | WR Tim Brown, Los Angeles Raiders (6) |
1989 | OT Andy Heck, Seattle Seahawks (15) |
1991 | CB Todd Lyght, Los Angeles Rams (5) |
1992 | TE Derek Brown, New York Giants (14) |
1993 | QB Rick Mirer, Seattle Seahawks (2) |
FB Jerome Bettis, Los Angeles Rams (10) | |
CB Tom Carter, Washington Redskins (17) | |
TE Irv Smith, New Orleans Saints (20) | |
1994 | DT Bryant Young, San Francisco 49ers (7) |
OG Aaron Taylor, Green Bay Packers (16) | |
FS Jeff Burris, Buffalo Bills (27) | |
1997 | DE Renaldo Wynn, Jacksonville Jaguars (21) |
1999 | OT Luke Petitgout, New York Giants (19) |
2003 | C Jeff Faine, Cleveland Browns (21) |
2007 | QB Brady Quinn, Cleveland Browns (22) |
2012 | WR Michael Floyd, Arizona Cardinals (13) |
S Harrison Smith, Minnesota Vikings (29) | |
2013 | TE Tyler Eifert, Cincinnati Bengals (21) |
2014 | OL Zack Martin, Dallas Cowboys (16) |
- No school has been more consistent in terms of supplying players to the NFL. Notre Dame has had a player selected in 78 of the 80 NFL Drafts (only misses were in 1937 and 1977*). Oklahoma has also had a player chosen in 78 of 80 NFL Drafts.
Most Drafts With Picks (1936-2015, 80 drafts)
Drafts | School | Drafts with no selections |
78 | Notre Dame | 1937, `77* |
78 | Oklahoma | 1962, ’95 |
75 | USC | 1936, ’37, ’38, ’43, ’46 |
72 | Tennessee | 1937, ’38, ’39, ’48, ’50, ’54, ’63, `15 |
72 | Michigan | 1936, ’37, ’38, ’40, ’47, ’50, ’55, ’61 |
70 | Alabama | 1946, ’47, ’50, ’57, ’58, ’60, ’61, ’70, ’78, ’05 |
68 | Texas | 1936, ’37, ’39, ’40, ’45, ’46, ’54, ’56, ’57, ’58, ’59, `14 |
67 | Florida | 1936, ’37, ’38, ’39, ’41, ’42, ’44, ’46, ’47, ’48, ’49, ’51, ’52 |
67 | Nebraska | 1942, ’43, ’44, ’45, ’46, ’48, ’50, ’52, ’54, ’56, ’58, ’59, ’62 |
65 | Miami, Fla. | 1936, ’37, ’39, ’43, ’44, ’46, ’48, ’49, ’50, ’54, ’55, ’58, ’59, ’61, ’74 |
65 | Penn State | 1936, ’37, ’38, ’39, ’40, ’42, ’44, ’45, ’46, ’48, ’51, ’52, ’53, ’54, ’05 |
* Al Hunter was selected in the 1977 NFL supplemental draft
- With Texas failing to have a player selected in the 2014 NFL Draft, Notre Dame has the longest streak of at least one player drafted at 78 straight years (when including the NFL supplemental draft).
- Notre Dame became the first school to ever produce three of the first five NFL Draft picks in a single year. In 1946, Frank Dancewicz went No. 1, Johnny Lujack went No. 4 and George Connor went No. 5. Remarkably, Emil Sitko went No. 10.
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- In addition to the Irish in ’46, Oklahoma (’10), Michigan State (’67) and USC (’77) each had three top-five selections in a single draft.
- Notre Dame was the first school to ever produce four of the first 10 NFL Draft picks in a single year as well.
- In addition to the Irish in ’46, Michigan State (’67) had four top-10 selections in a single draft.
- Notre Dame and Oklahoma are the only two schools that have ever produced the top pick in consecutive NBA (Austin Carr went No. 1 in 1971) and NFL (Walt Patulski went No. 1 in the 1972) Drafts. Oklahoma had Blake Griffin (NBA) and Sam Bradford (NFL) in 2010.
Irish Drafted by Position
Pos. | Total | First Rounders | Last First-Rounder (Year) | Last Overall (Year) | |
OT | 60 | 6 | Luke Petitgout (1999) | Sam Young (2010) | |
DB | 54 | 6 | Harrison Smith (2012) | Bennett Jackson (2014) | |
OG | 54 | 4 | Zack Martin (2014) | Zack Martin, Chris Watt (2014) | |
LB | 53 | 1 | Bob Crable (1982) | Prince Shembo (2014) | |
RB | 37 | 7 | Jerome Bettis (1993) | Theo Riddick (2013) | |
C | 30 | 4 | Jeff Faine (2003) | Eric Olsen (2010) | |
TE | 28 | 6 | Tyler Eifert (2013) | Ben Koyack (2015) | |
DT | 27 | 7 | Bryant Young (1994) | Louis Nix III (2014) | |
QB | 21 | 9 | Brady Quinn (2007) | Jimmy Clausen (2010) | |
DE | 21 | 4 | Renaldo Wynn (1997) | Stephon Tuitt (2014) | |
WR | 20 | 4 | Michael Floyd (2012) | TJ Jones (2014) | |
FB | 10 | 2 | Nick Pietrosante (1959) | Marc Edwards (1997) | |
P | 3 | 0 | None | Hunter Smith (1999 | |
K | 1 | 0 | None | Bob Thomas (1974 |
Defunct Position Names
Back | 38 | 2 | Creighton Miller (1944) | Tom MacDonald (1964) |
End | 29 | 2 | Leon Hart (1950) | Phil Sheridan (1966) |
Irish Picks by Current NFL Team
Picks | Team | First Rounders |
41 | Bears | Bob Williams (1951), Johnny Lujack (1946) |
35 | Steelers | Frank Varrichione (1955), Johnny Lattner (1954), Bill Shakespeare (1936) |
34 | Redskins | Tom Carter (1993), Ralph Guglielmi (1955) |
30 | Rams | Jerome Bettis (1993), Todd Lyght (1991), Mike Fanning (1975), Jim Seymour (1969), Emil Sitko (1946) |
27 | Eagles | Neil Worden (1954), Frank Tripucka (1949), John Yonakor (1945) |
27 | Cardinals | Michael Floyd (2012), George Izo (1960), Jerry Groom (1951), Bill Fischer (1949) |
26 | Packers | Aaron Taylor (1994), Mike McCoy (1970), Paul Hornung (1957), Art Hunter (1954) |
21 | Giants | Luke Petitgout (1999), Derek Brown (1992), Eric Dorsey (1986), Joe Heap (1955), George Connor (1946) |
20 | 49ers | Bryant Young (1994), Ken MacAfee (1978), Monty Stickles (1960) |
18 | Bills | Jeff Burris (1994), Greg Bell (1984), Tony Hunter (1983), Walt Patulski (1972) |
18 | Lions | Luther Bradley (1978), Nick Pietrosante (1959), Leon Hart (1950), Frank Szymanski (1945) |
17 | Patriots | Vagas Ferguson (1980) |
15 | Browns | Brady Quinn (2007), Jeff Faine (2003) |
15 | Chiefs | None |
14 | Chargers | None |
12 | Colts | None |
11 | Saints | Irv Smith (1993), Kevin Hardy (1968) |
10 | Broncos | None |
10 | Vikings | Harrison Smith (2012), Alan Page (1967), Jack Snow (1965) |
10 | Falcons | Clarence Ellis (1972), George Kunz (1969) |
9 | Bengals | Tyler Eifert (2013), Ross Browner (1978) |
9 | Dolphins | Mike Kadish (1972) |
9 | Titans | Tom Regner (1967) |
9 | Cowboys | Zack Martin (2014) |
8 | Raiders | Tim Brown (1988) |
8 | Seahawks | Rick Mirer (1993), Andy Heck (1989), Steve Niehaus (1976) |
7 | Jets | Bob Crable (1982), Paul Seiler (1967) |
6 | Buccaneers | None |
5 | Ravens | None |
4 | Jaguars | Renaldo Wynn (1997) |
3 | Texans | None |
2 | Panthers | None |
- The Bears franchise has selected the most Notre Dame players (41). The Steelers are next with 35. The Rams (30) and Giants (21) have drafted the most Irish players in the first round with five apiece.
Most Notre Dame Players Selected
16 — 1946 (32 rounds)
15 — 1945 (32 rounds)
13 — 1950 (30 rounds)
11 — 1954 (30 rounds), 1959 (30 rounds), 1969 (15 rounds)
10 — 1944 (32 rounds), 1948 (32 rounds), 1956 (30 rounds), 1975 (12 rounds), 1979 (12 rounds), 1991 (12 rounds), 1994 (seven rounds)
- The most Notre Dame players ever taken in a single draft was 16 in 1946 haul. While the draft included 32 rounds, the 16 Irish players went in the top 20 rounds. Four Notre Dame players went in the top-10 selections (Frank Dancewicz, QB; Johnny Lujack, QB; George Connor, T; Emil Sitko, B)
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- The rest of the ’46 draft class included Elmer Angsman (third round), Ed Mieszkowski, (seventh), Pete Berezney (seventh), Bob Skoglund (ninth), Joe Signaigo (10th), George Strohmeyer (13th), Bob Palladino (14th), Fred Rovai (15th), Gasper Urban (17th), Jerry Ford (17th), Bill Heywood (20th) and Frank Ruggerio (20th).
- The NFL Draft went through several reductions in rounds. It became seven rounds in 1994.
- The most Irish players drafted in the Brian Kelly era at Notre Dame is eight (2014).
Most Notre Dame Players Selected in First Round
4 — 1946, 1993
3 — 1954, 1955, 1967, 1972, 1978, 1994
2 — 1944, 1945, 1949, 1951, 1960, 1969, 2012
1 — 1936, 1950, 1957, 1959, 1965, 1968, 1970, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2013, 2014
Most Notre Dame Players Selected in First Two Rounds
6 — 1993
5 — 1967
4 — 1946, 1954, 1955, 1978, 1990, 1994
3 — 1949, 1969, 1972, 1980, 1991 , 2014
Most Notre Dame Players Selected in First Three Rounds
7 — 1994
6 — 1967, 1993
5 — 1946, 1955, 1978, 2014
4 — 1949, 1954, 1972, 1990, 1991, 1997
Most Notre Dame Players Selected in First Seven Rounds
10 — 1994
8 — 1945, 1955, 1972, 1993, 2014
7 — 1946, 1950, 1954, 1967, 1978, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1999, 2003, 2007
Consecutive Years with First-Rounders
4 — 1967-70, 1991-94
3 — 1944-46, 1949-51, 1982-84, 2012-14
Consecutive Years with Pick in First Three Rounds
18 — 1982-1999
8 — 2001-08
7 — 1964-70
5 — 1972-76, 2010-14
Consecutive Years with Irish Player Drafted (excluding supplemental draft)
39 — 1938-1976
38 — 1978-2015*
* indicates active streak