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 major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and the highest professional level of American football in the world. Each NFL season begins annually with a three-week preseason in August, followed by the 18-week regular season, which runs from early September to early January, with each team playing 17 games and having one bye week. Following the conclusion of the regular season, seven teams from each conference, including four division winners and three wild card teams, advance to the playoffs, a single-elimination tournament, which culminates in the Super Bowl, played in early February between the winners of the AFC and NFC championship games.
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 reverse order relative to its record in the previous year, which means that the last place team is positioned first and the Super Bowl champion is last. From this position, the team can either select a player or trade its position to another team for other draft positions, a player or players, or any combination thereof. The round is complete when each team has either selected a player or traded its position in the draft. The first draft was held in 1936 and has been held every year since.
Joseph Frank Walton was an American football player and coach who retired after 20 years as the head coach and creator of the football program at Robert Morris University. Walton played eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL) as a pass catching tight end for the Redskins and Giants. He served as head coach of the New York Jets for seven seasons, guiding them to the playoffs twice. He also served as an assistant coach for the New York Giants, the Washington Redskins, the New York Jets and the Pittsburgh Steelers during a 20-year period.
The American Football League draft, the American Football League stocked its teams in two ways:
- Signing free agents.
- Signing players from the previous year's college graduates.
Antonio Richardson is an American former football fullback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, Kansas City Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings and New York Jets. He was signed by the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 1994. He played college football at Auburn University.
Dennis Barton Dugan is an American film director, actor, and comedian. He is known for directing the films Problem Child, Brain Donors, Beverly Hills Ninja and National Security, and his partnership with comedic actor Adam Sandler, for whom he directed the films Happy Gilmore, Big Daddy, The Benchwarmers, I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, You Don't Mess with the Zohan, Grown Ups, Just Go with It, Jack and Jill and Grown Ups 2. Dugan is a four-time Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director nominee, winning once.
Jeffery Stephen Dugan is a former American football tight end and fullback. He was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in seventh round of 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football for the University of Maryland. Before college Dugan attended Central Catholic High School, where NFL quarterbacks Dan Marino and Marc Bulger attended.
The 1965 NFL draft was held at the Summit Hotel in New York City on Saturday, November 28, 1964. The first player selected was Tucker Frederickson, back from Auburn, by the New York Giants.
Franklin Clarke was an American football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Cleveland Browns and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at the University of Colorado.
Ryan Cook is a former American football center who spent eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of New Mexico and was selected in the 2nd round of the 2006 NFL draft by the Minnesota Vikings. He also played for the Miami Dolphins and Dallas Cowboys.
Ron Dugans is an American football coach and former player. He is the wide receivers coach for Florida State. He played professionally as a wide receiver for four seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL).
John Patrick Aveni was an American football placekicker and tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago Bears and the Washington Redskins.
James Podoley was an American football halfback and end for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). Born in Mount Morris, Michigan, he played college football at Central Michigan University and was drafted in the fourth round of the 1957 NFL Draft.
John Frederick Dugan was an American football end. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins. He played college football at the University of Dayton and the University of Alabama.
Richard E. Anderson is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Rutgers University from 1984 to 1989, compiling a record of 28–33–4. His highlight victory during that span was 21–16 win over Penn State in 1988—Rutgers' first win over the Nittany Lions in 70 years. He played college football at Penn State, and served there as an assistant football coach for many years under Joe Paterno.
Craig Heimburger is a former professional American football player.
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football franchise based in the Washington metropolitan area. They are members of the East division in the National Football Conference (NFC) of the National Football League (NFL). The Commanders were founded in 1932 as the Boston Braves, named after the local baseball franchise. The franchise changed its name the following year to the Redskins and moved to Washington, D.C. in 1937. In 2020, the team retired the Redskins name after longstanding controversies surrounding it and briefly played as the Washington Football Team before becoming the Commanders in 2022.
Allen Leldon Green was an American professional football player who was a punter and placekicker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at the University of Mississippi.
Demetrius "DeeJay" Dallas, Jr. is an American football running back for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes and was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL draft.
Jeff Thomas is an American football wide receiver for the St. Louis Battlehawks of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football at the University of Miami and signed with the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2020.
