1967 NFL expansion draft

Last updated
1967 NFL expansion draft
General information
SportAmerican football
Date(s)February 9, 1967
Overview
LeagueNFL
Expansion teams New Orleans Saints
Expansion season 1967
←  1966
1976  →

The 1967 National Football League expansion draft was a National Football League (NFL) draft held on February 9, 1967 in which a new expansion team named the New Orleans Saints selected its first players. [1] On November 1, 1966 (All Saints Day), NFL owners awarded its 16th team franchise to the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. [2] The Saints selected 42 players in total from every team roster except for the Atlanta Falcons, who had begun play in the 1966 season. The expansion draft included future Hall of Famer running back Paul Hornung, who set an NFL record by scoring 176 points in only 12 games in 1960 for the Green Bay Packers, but did not play in Super Bowl I. Hornung never played a down for the Saints and retired in the preseason due to a neck injury.

Following the expansion draft, the Saints signed Hornung's backfield mate with the Packers, Jim Taylor to a 10-year, $400,000 contract. Taylor played just one season in his home state (Taylor was a native of Baton Rouge and was an All-American at LSU) and retired in September 1968.

Player selections

1967 NFL expansion draft — New Orleans Saints
FromPlayerPosition [3] [4] Experience [5] College [3] [5] Notes
GS
Baltimore Colts Jackie Burkett   LB 796 Auburn
Baltimore Colts Ted Davis   LB 383 Georgia Tech
Baltimore Colts Steve Stonebreaker   LB 605 Detroit
Chicago Bears Riley Mattson   OT 685 Oregon Did not report. [6]
Chicago Bears Brian Schweda   DE 141 Kansas
Chicago Bears Dave Whitsell  *  CB 1199 Indiana
Cleveland Browns Jim Battle   DE 61 Southern
Cleveland Browns John Morrow  *  C 12510 Michigan
Cleveland Browns Walter Roberts   FL 423 San Jose State
Dallas Cowboys Obert Logan   S 282 Trinity
Dallas Cowboys Bill Sandeman   OT 81 Pacific
Dallas Cowboys Larry Stephens   DT 947 Texas
Detroit Lions Bill Cody   LB 11 Auburn Injured reserve. [6]
Detroit Lions Bobby Smith   CB 696 UCLA Also known as Bobby Lee Smith
Detroit Lions Willie Walker   FL-SE 91 Tennessee State
Green Bay Packers Bill Curry  *  C-LB 282 Georgia Tech Traded along with three draft selections (one of which was Bubba Smith) to Baltimore Colts for Gary Cuozzo, Butch Allison and a 1967 17th-round pick on March 6, 1967.
Green Bay Packers Paul Hornung  * †  HB 1049 Notre Dame
Green Bay Packers Phil Vandersea   FB-LB 141 Massachusetts
Los Angeles Rams Steve Heckard   FL-SE 252 Davidson; USC
Los Angeles Rams Earl Leggett   DT 1129 Louisiana State
Los Angeles Rams Joe Wendryhoski   C-E 313 Illinois
Minnesota Vikings Tom Hall   FL-SE 695 Minnesota
Minnesota Vikings George Rose   CB 343 Auburn
Minnesota Vikings Mike Tilleman   DT 121 Montana
New York Giants Jim Garcia   DE 222 Purdue
New York Giants Bob Scholtz   OT 817 Notre Dame Did not report. [6]
New York Giants Gary Wood   QB 353 Cornell
Philadelphia Eagles Dave Cahill   DE 141 Northern Arizona Traded to Los Angeles Rams for Mike Capshaw and an undisclosed draft choice on July 1, 1967. [7]
Philadelphia Eagles Ray Rissmiller   OT 11 Georgia
Philadelphia Eagles Fred Whittingham   LB 192 Cal Poly
Pittsburgh Steelers Charlie Bradshaw  *  OT 1189 Baylor Traded to Detroit Lions for Bruce McLenna on March 9, 1967. [8]
Pittsburgh Steelers Jerry Simmons   SE 172 Bethune-Cookman
Pittsburgh Steelers Bobby Smith  *  HB 363 North Texas State Also known as Bob Smith
St. Louis Cardinals Jimmy Heidel   S 141 Mississippi
St. Louis Cardinals Ray Ogden   TE 172 Alabama
St. Louis Cardinals Dave Simmons   LB 202 Georgia Tech
San Francisco 49ers Billy Kilmer  *  QB 394 UCLA
San Francisco 49ers Elbert Kimbrough   S 756 Northwestern
San Francisco 49ers Kent Kramer   TE 141 Minnesota
Washington Redskins Tom Barrington   FB 61 Ohio State
Washington Redskins Don Croftcheck   G 262 Indiana Traded to Chicago Bears for Doug Atkins and Herman Lee on July 16, 1967.
Washington Redskins Jake Kupp  *  G 423 Washington
      Made roster    *   Made Pro Bowl during career    †    Pro Football Hall of Fame

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References

  1. ↑ Howell, Brian. New Orleans Saints. Edina, Minnesota: ABDO Publishing Company, 2011.
  2. ↑ "Team History: New Orleans Saints". Pro Football Hall of Fame website. Archived from the original on 31 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-09.
  3. 1 2 "Saints by Position". New Orleans States-Item. New Orleans. February 11, 1967. p. 9.
  4. ↑ "Veterans Picked by Saints". The Times-Picayune. New Orleans. February 11, 1967. sec. 2, p. 13.
  5. 1 2 "1967 New Orleans Saints Starters, Roster, & Players". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 New Orleans Saints 1967 Information Guide (scroll down to page 20). Retrieved August 2, 2020
  7. ↑ "Saints Trade Cahill For Rams' Capshaw," United Press International (UPI), Sunday, July 2, 1967. Retrieved August 2, 2020
  8. ↑ "Saints Trade For McLenna," The Associated Press (AP), Friday, March 10, 1967. Retrieved August 2, 2020
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