1981 NFL Draft (Part 1)
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 18 พ.ย. 2024
- Widely considered the greatest defensive draft of all time, the 1981 NFL Draft was held on April 28-29, 1981. A total of 332 players were chosen over 12 rounds. The New Orleans Saints chose Running Back George Rogers from South Carolina as the first pick in the draft. Future Hall of Famers Lawrence Taylor, Kenny Easley, Ronnie Lott, Mike Singletary, Howie Long, Rickey Jackson and Russ Grimm were selected in this draft.
For the first time, the top two picks of the draft were named Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Year, respectively.
Pick # NFL Team Player Position College
1 New Orleans Saints George Rogers Running back South Carolina
2 New York Giants Lawrence Taylor Linebacker North Carolina
3 New York Jets Freeman McNeil Running back UCLA
4 Seattle Seahawks Kenny Easley Strong Safety UCLA
5 St. Louis Cardinals E. J. Junior Linebacker Alabama
6 Green Bay Packers Rich Campbell Quarterback California
7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Hugh Green Linebacker Pitt
8 San Francisco 49ers Ronnie Lott Cornerback USC
9 Los Angeles Rams Mel Owens Linebacker Michigan
10 Cincinnati Bengals David Verser Wide receiver Kansas
11 Chicago Bears Keith Van Horne Offensive tackle USC
12 Baltimore Colts Randy McMillan Running back Pitt
13 Miami Dolphins David Overstreet Running back Oklahoma
14 Kansas City Chiefs Willie Scott Tight end South Carolina
15 Denver Broncos Dennis Smith Safety USC
16 Detroit Lions Mark Nichols Wide receiver San José State
17 Pittsburgh Steelers Keith Gary Defensive end Oklahoma
18 Baltimore Colts Donnell Thompson Defensive tackle North Carolina
19 New England Patriots Brian Holloway Offensive tackle Stanford
20 Washington Redskins Mark May Offensive tackle Pitt
21 Oakland Raiders Ted Watts Cornerback Texas Tech
22 Cleveland Browns Hanford Dixon Cornerback Southern Miss
23 Oakland Raiders Curt Marsh Offensive tackle Washington
24 San Diego Chargers James Brooks Running back Auburn
25 Atlanta Falcons Bobby Butler Cornerback Florida State
26 Dallas Cowboys Howard Richards Offensive tackle Missouri
27 Philadelphia Eagles Leonard Mitchell Defensive end Houston
28 Buffalo Bills Booker Moore Running back Penn State
New Orleans Saints Dave Wilson Quarterback Illinois
29 New Orleans Saints Russell Gary Strong Safety University of Nebraska
30 New York Jets Marion Barber Jr. Running back University of Minnesota
31 Seattle Seahawks David Hughes Running back Boise State University
32 New York Giants Dave Young Tight end Purdue University
33 St. Louis Cardinals Neil Lomax Quarterback Portland State University
34 Tampa Bay Buccaneers James Wilder Sr. Running back University of Missouri
35 Green Bay Packers Gary Lewis Tight end University of Texas at Arlington
36 San Francisco 49ers(from Washington) John Harty Defensive tackle University of Iowa
37 Cincinnati Bengals Cris Collinsworth Wide receiver University of Florida
38 Chicago Bears(from San Francisco) Mike Singletary Linebacker Baylor University
39 Minnesota Vikings Mardye McDole Wide receiver Mississippi State University
40 San Francisco 49ers(from Chicago) Eric Wright Cornerback University of Missouri
41 Kansas City Chiefs Joe Delaney Running back Northwestern Louisiana State
42 Denver Broncos Clay Brown Tight end Brigham Young University
43 Los Angeles Rams Jim Collins Linebacker Syracuse University
44 Pittsburgh Steelers Anthony Washington Cornerback Fresno State
45 Minnesota Vikings Robin Sendlein Linebacker University of Texas at Austin
46 Detroit Lions Curtis Green Defensive end Alabama State University
47 New England Patriots Tony Collins Running back East Carolina University
48 Oakland Raiders Howie Long Defensive tackle Villanova University
49 Buffalo Bills Chris Williams Cornerback Louisiana State University
50 Buffalo Bills Byron Franklin Wide receiver Auburn
51 New Orleans Saints Rickey Jackson Linebacker University of Pittsburgh
52 Minnesota Vikings Jarvis Redwine Running back University of Nebraska
53 Dallas Cowboys Doug Donley Wide receiver Ohio State University
54 Atlanta Falcons Lyman White Linebacker Louisiana State University
55 Philadelphia Eagles Dean Miraldi Guard University of Utah
56 Miami Dolphins Andra Franklin Running back University of Nebraska
![ร้อยพ่อพันแม่ - WanMai [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/XY2pNYASEbg/mqdefault.jpg)
LOVE this, Betamax. Thanks for posting. If memory serves, the drafts of this era took place on a weekday. I recall staying home from school to watch at least one of them. I got a kick out of the analog days low-tech production values: ESPN studio looking like a faux wood-paneled spare bedroom from the 1970s. The cheap vinyl NFL banner hastily unfurled and still kinked and wrinkled up behind the podium. The downtown NYC hotel ballroom laid out with folding tables as if a mid-western VFW hall. Back before the league was a billion dollar behemoth. Doesn't feel all that long ago.
I preferred it that way ...wasn't so commercial and mainstream at the time
“Or will they choose Lawrence Taylor?” Sends chills down my spine. Imagine a 50/50 shot of choosing a nobody, and the best defensive player of all time.
How are you able to hear the audio?
crack😅😅😅😅😅
dick butkis wasn't in this draft
the saints could have taken 2 HOF LBs. later they took rickey jackson. LT and RJ on same defense.
@@clubhousemeIf you are a Bears fan, I can accept this obviously wrong, and biased opinion. If you're not a Bears fan, than you are delusional.
I hadn't heard the name of Leandra Reilly in many years. I forgot how pretty she was! Nice seeing these early ESPN broadcasters again. It's not nearly the same quality anymore.
George Rogers was not a bust. 7700+ yards in his career and over 1600 as a rookie.
Compared to Lawrence Taylor, though, he was a bust.
George Rogers was a beast for the Saints! I remember him running wild, unfortunately the Saints weren't too good back then
@user-pv8jy1nt8f yep, sure did
I was glad when he won the Superbowl with the Redskins
@@DNSKansasthey ended up with Rickey Jackson in Round 2. Similar player.
Really appreciate the sharing of this! It’s always fun to see how things have changed. Imagine today arguing that two RBs would be too three picks.
Nothing like the current draft. Imagine a player going hug crazy with Pete Rozelle like they do now. And wait, no Mel Kiper Jr...yet.
Nice use of weather report's "birdland" in the intro
All you need to know is the greatest defensive player ever was available, and NO didn't pick him. That was the day I became a Giants fan
So you stopped being a fan because your team didn't draft the player you wanted?
This is crazy seeing Sam Rosen who only a few years later became my Rangers play by play guy and he is still there today! Also seeing Francesca who I listened to on the FAN almost 10 years later. Both with staches too! 😂
So interesting seeing Bud Wilkinson here. He was 20,000 votes away from being the senator from Oklahoma and here he is 17 years after the fact partially commentating the NFL Draft before it became culturally significant. Got beat in Oklahoma, as a Republican, by a nobody attorney/state senator later known as a huge liberal in Fred Harris. Nowadays its an election he wins by 35 points in a state like Oklahoma-I believe coach Tommy Tuberville won his Senate election in 2020 by around 20 points even though his opponent was the incumbent Democratic Senator.
It didn't help Bud that LBJ trounced Goldwater at the same time. Harris was the arguably the biggest beneficiary of LBJ's coattails.
The younger version of Ray Ratto and he knew what he was talking about Ronnie Lott, but Ronnie was a key piece for the 49ers
1:10:25 Wow! Great analyst to this day.
Love this. Early days of the draft on tv
The NYG could have had LT and Mike Singletary 😮COULD ONLY IMAGINE!!!!
It's the ballroom at the Grand Sheraton and it looks tiny. The tables are literally crammed in.
Cosell’s opinion about the draft then would be the same today, it’s an over exposed, over propagandized event
YES! But it was a great draft
I disagree. It’s awesome and a fun event
I heard this draft lasted eight and one half hours.
And it went overnight and into Sunday.
@@timglende8869 This draft actually took place on a Tuesday, so it went into Wednesday. Drafts in this era started on Tuesdays.
Or will they take Lawrence Taylor?
Giants getting LT made this draft for my team but after him it was really bad pick after bad pick until they got Billy Ard and Byron Hunt in the 8th and 9th rounds.
Greatest defensive draft ever 🔥🫡🔥
Bar none!
Chris Berman camped out at Manuche's restaurant for a live remote. It closed the following year! 😂
Mike Francessa at 46:30
Good catch! Wow.
yes. Still as arrogant and unlikable as always
boy did he put on some weight over the years
As a 14 year old Giants fan, my reaction was “A linebacker? Really?” This was a team that had nothing but linebackers. Carson, Kelly, Van Pelt. I guess that’s why 14 year old fans don’t run NFL teams.
Wade Phillips knew what he was talking about when he wanted Lawrence Taylor
Too bad his dad didn't listen and thought Rogers was the second coming of Earl Campbell. Rogers lacked Campbell's size, then he got hooked on cocaine.
@@DNSKansas Facts
@@DNSKansasThis situation kept him from the Pro Football Hall of Fame
@1:15:55 Overview of the bengals draft history and how all the picks as starters hasn’t produced results. Little did they know that this Bengals team would make it to and nearly win the Superbowl for the 1981 season. Prior to that segment SF sports reporter is interviewed on Ronnie Lott and the difference he would make. again, who could tell that he would lead a superbowl bound defense.
Not only did The 49ers draft a future Hall Of Famer Defensive Back in Ronnie Lott , but also a conerstone player to the great 49ers dynasty during the 1980s & 1990s...! GO 49ERS!!!!!!
@@1kylecurry and yet LT is the topic of discussion
I remember when the Giants picked Lawrence Taylor at #1, the newscaster said he was going to be great! He saved the Giants from another 18 years of lousy football!
Howard Cosell thought Mark Haynes was a bust? I don’t remember ever thinking that. He ended up making several Pro Bowls and playing in the Super Bowl 3 times.
Consecutive picks of: EJ Junior -Cardinals, Rich Campbell-Packers, Hugh Green-Buccaneers. And that's why those teams were perennial bottom feeders. Unreal
Both Green and Junior had multiple All-Pro/Pro Bowl seasons, so they were not busts. Green was probably the best tackler I’ve ever seen: once he put a finger on you, you were going down. He got in a serious car accident during his 4th season, but clawed his way back for a few more decent years. Respect to that dude.
Now Campbell, there was a bust.
@@joetrapp9187 my bad. I guess it's been too long.. I was 10 years old in 1981 and knew the "skill" positions better than the others. Thanks for taking the time to reply, Joe. Ironically, I'd just posted a few comments yesterday pertaining to the '88 Draft. These are very fun to watch. Take care. Vincent
The Cardinals were perennial bottom feeders during this era because they wasted 1st round picks on guys like Clyde Duncan, Kelly Stouffer, Anthony Bell, Steve Pisarkewicz, I could go on and on. EJ Junior was actually one of the good picks. Bill Bidwell was a buffoon.
@@butchcoolidge4448The Cardinals Are Still Being Ran By Buffoons
Hugh Green was a GREAT player. Of course, the Bucs pissed him off and that was that.
Paul McGuire never had hair 😂
This guy didn't have hair when he was in the AFL...lol
are there any other you tube videos of NFL Drafts from the 1980s
Yes
The legendary 1983 draft, first round.
nfl legends has the 1989 nfl draft
Is it me or is there an issue with audio quality ?
It’s from a 40 year old Sony Betamax machine and cassette.
I can't hear it at all on my laptop or phone. How do people hear it?
They played Phil Collins “ I Missed Again” as a buffer song. Amazing lol
No, that's "Hand in Hand." Great song.
1:58:34 hey there's Bill polian
Ray Rato saying Ronnie Lott won’t have that big an impact his rookie year. 😂
Nice volume
The unloader deserve 75$ bucks for this upload LT was the greatest NFL prospect ever 💯
Wow i was born june 9th that year... This is cool lol
Howard Cosell didn't have much of an imagination? He called the draft a non-event. He should see the non-event now. LOL
Compare this to NFL drafts in the 2020's.
were fans required to have Brillo Pad hair to get into this draft?
Why did Hugh Green fall in the draft ?
26:31 best player of all time
crack
There is no sound/audio.
I hear the audio when I play it.
@@betamax-vhs-super8978 Barely hear it. I had to crank mine all the way up.
WEATHER REPORT JACO
Jack Dolph?
Thanks for putting this here I enjoyed watching it in spite of it being as entertaining as a kindergarten music recital when none of the kids are yours. I would love to have a time machine to go back and confront Cosell for his draft doucebaggery by asking him how much it cost to get Don Merediths clothes and boots cleaned after being so drunk and unprofessional in the MNF booth he covered him head to toe in vomit.
Amazing. I bet when you watched ESPN back then it wasnt full of politics, virtue signaling and social justice crap.
It was lacking whiners like you
Job
With real journalists and no bozos shouting as loud as they can.
And no feminist bullshit, hookup culture, situationships, or Onlyfans. I wish I was alive then.
Please. Politics and sports have always intersected, and there are multiple political statements in this 1981 broadcast ( 1:53:08 for example). Having a degree of a social conscience isn't why ESPN went down the toilet in the last 22 years or so. Hot take culture and endless self promotion is what ruined ESPN, sports media, and media in general. You used to get the Sports Reporters for a single hour on Sundays, and that was the only "hot take" programming they had. Then sports radio got hot in the late 90's. ESPN wanted in. Around the Horn and PTI came around 01 as a response to the rise in popularity of sports radio. From there, the content increased to the point that by 2010, it was all "hot take" programming.
What it really boils down to for people with complaints like this is that you're fine with politics seeping into sports so long as it supports your conservative world view; and if it doesn't, you whine and complain.
When it was all about sports now it's a big political dump.
Weak quarterback draft and average overall.
As soon as Bum was hired, there was no way the Saints weren't taking Rogers. He figured Rogers was Earl Campbell II.
The Saints had a great draft in 1981. George Rogers, Rickey Jackson, Hoby Brenner, Frank Warren, Russell Gary, Johnnie Poe, Jim Wilks, Hokie Gajan. All those guys became contributing starters for several years. Jackson went to the H.O.F., Warren, Wilks and Brenner stayed on the Saints for 13 years as starters
After New Orleans traded Chuck Muncie in 1980, the franchise had no other choice
Wonder who Cowboys were wanting to trade up for? Taylor to Cowboys would’ve been nuts.
@@Zman1963 Would have never happened because Landry had to deal with 'Hollywood' Henderson a couple of years before
Probably, but they wanted that first pick.