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 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 advance to the playoffs, a single-elimination tournament that culminates in the Super Bowl, which is contested in February and is played between the AFC and NFC conference champions. The league is headquartered in New York City.
The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. 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.
David Duke Carr is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the NFL for 11 seasons. He was drafted by the Houston Texans first overall in the 2002 NFL Draft. He played college football at Fresno State. Carr also played professionally for the Carolina Panthers, New York Giants, and San Francisco 49ers. He received a Super Bowl ring as a backup for the Giants after their victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI.
Deion Luwynn Sanders Sr. is an American football coach and former player who is the head football coach at the University of Colorado Boulder. Nicknamed "Prime Time" or "Coach Prime", he played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, and Baltimore Ravens. Sanders was also a baseball outfielder for nine seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, and San Francisco Giants. He won two Super Bowl titles and made a World Series appearance in 1992, making him the only athlete to play in both a Super Bowl and a World Series. Sanders is widely regarded as the greatest cornerback in NFL history.
Frank Michael Reich Jr. is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the head coach for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Maryland and was selected by the Bills in the third round of the 1985 NFL Draft. Reich spent most of his career backing up Jim Kelly, although he achieved recognition when he led the Bills to the NFL's largest postseason comeback during the 1992–93 NFL playoffs.
Mr. Irrelevant is the nickname given to the last pick of the annual National Football League Draft. Although NFL drafts date back to 1936, the first person to be called Mr. Irrelevant was Kelvin Kirk of the 1976 NFL Draft.
In American football, the long snapper is a center on special teams whose duty is to snap the football over a longer distance, typically around 15 yards during punts, and 7–8 yards during field goals and extra point attempts.
The 1986 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 29–30, 1986, at the Marriott Marquis in New York City, New York. The league also held a supplemental draft after the regular draft and before the regular season.
Vonnie B'VSean Miller is an American football outside linebacker for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). Miller played college football at Texas A&M, where he earned consensus All-American honors and the Butkus Award. He was selected by the Denver Broncos second overall in the 2011 NFL Draft.
Joseph Anthony Bosa is an American football outside linebacker for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State and was selected third overall by the Chargers in the 2016 NFL Draft, where he was named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. Bosa has since been cited as among the best pass rushers in the NFL. He is the son of former NFL player John Bosa and the older brother of current NFL player Nick Bosa.
Kyler Cole Murray is an American football quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). Following a stint at Texas A&M, Murray played college football at Oklahoma, where he won the Heisman Trophy as a junior. Murray was selected first overall by the Cardinals in the 2019 NFL Draft. He was also selected ninth overall by the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the 2018 draft, making him the first player to be drafted in the first round of both sports.
Patrick Lavon Mahomes II is an American football quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). The son of former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher Pat Mahomes, he initially played college football and baseball at Texas Tech. Following his sophomore year, he quit baseball to focus solely on football. In his junior year, he led all NCAA Division I FBS players in multiple categories including passing yards (5,052) and total touchdowns (53). He was selected 10th overall by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2017 NFL Draft.
Eli Apple is an American football cornerback for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State, where he was a part of the team that won the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship, and was selected by the New York Giants in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft. He has also played for the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers.
Christian Jackson McCaffrey is an American football running back for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Stanford and was drafted by the Carolina Panthers eighth overall in the 2017 NFL Draft. As a sophomore in 2015, McCaffrey was named AP College Football Player of the Year and was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy. He holds the NCAA record for most all-purpose yards in a season, with 3,864. McCaffrey holds numerous NFL and Panthers franchise records and is one of three players ever to record 1,000 rushing and 1,000 receiving yards in the same season, doing so in 2019.
Haason Samir Reddick is an American football outside linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Temple, and was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
Nicholas John Bosa is an American football defensive end for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State and was selected second overall by the 49ers in the 2019 NFL Draft. Bosa was named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year by having nine sacks in the regular season and helping his team reach Super Bowl LIV. He is the son of former NFL defensive end John Bosa and younger brother of Joey, currently a linebacker for the Los Angeles Chargers.
DeVonta Smith is an American football wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama, where he recorded over 1,800 yards with 23 touchdowns as a senior in 2020.
Justin Joshua Jefferson is an American football wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at LSU and was drafted by the Vikings in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner is an American football cornerback for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Cincinnati and was selected fourth overall by the Jets in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Isiah Pacheco is an American football running back for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Rutgers and was drafted by the Chiefs in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
