The National Football League (NFL) have drafted 275 players who had played for the University of Arkansas Razorbacks since the league began holding drafts in 1936. [a 1] The Razorbacks' highest draft position was second overall in 1954, when Lamar McHan was selected by the Chicago Cardinals. [3] [4] Arkansas' first drafted player in the NFL was Jack Robbins, who was the fifth overall pick by the Chicago Cardinals in 1938. [5]
Each NFL franchise seeks to add new players through the annual NFL draft. The team with the worst record the previous year picks first, the next-worst team second, and so on. Teams that did not make the playoffs are ordered by their regular-season record, with any remaining ties broken by strength of schedule. Playoff participants are sequenced after non-playoff teams, based on their round of elimination (wild card, division, conference, and Super Bowl). [6]
Before the AFL–NFL merger agreements in 1966, the American Football League (AFL) operated in direct competition with the NFL and held a separate draft. This led to a massive bidding war over top prospects between the two leagues. As part of the merger agreement on June 8, 1966, the two leagues would hold a multiple round common draft. Once the AFL officially merged with the NFL in 1970, the common draft simply became the NFL draft. [1] [2]
QB | QuarterBack [a 2] | K | Kicker | NT | Nose tackle |
C | Center | LB | Linebacker | FB | Fullback |
DB | Defensive back | P | Punter | HB | Halfback |
DE | Defensive end | QB | Quarterback | WR | Wide receiver |
DT | Defensive tackle | RB | Running back | G | Guard |
E | End | T | Offensive tackle | TE | Tight end |
* | Selected to an all-star game (AFL All-Star game, NFL All-Star game or Pro Bowl) | ||||
† | Won a league championship (AFL championship, NFL championship, or Super Bowl) | ||||
‡ | Selected to an all-star game and won a league championship | ||||