East Carolina University began playing organized American football in 1932 and has had many players go on to play professionally after graduating from the university. The school's first-ever selection was Roger Thrift, a quarterback, who was picked by the Cleveland Browns in the 1951 NFL draft. The team's selection in the most recent draft, the 2026 NFL draft, was wide receiver Anthony Smith who was selected by the Dallas Cowboys.

Every April, each National Football League (NFL) franchise seeks to add new players to its roster through a collegiate draft officially known as "the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" but more commonly known as the NFL Draft. Generally, 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). See NFL Draft Rules for further detail. Selections are made during seven different rounds.

Teams have the option of trading their picks to other teams in exchange for different picks, players, money, or a combination thereof. It is not uncommon for a team's actual draft pick to differ from their assigned draft pick, or for a team to have extra or no draft picks in any round due to these trades. Of the players selected in each draft and throughout its history, East Carolina has had 65 players picked.

The Pirates have had two first round selections in the NFL Draft; linebacker Robert Jones was picked #24 overall in the 1992 by the Dallas Cowboys, and running back Chris Johnson was also picked #24 overall in the 2008 NFL draft by the Tennessee Titans. The Pirates have had six players drafted by each of the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys and four by the Minnesota Vikings during the school's history. East Carolina most productive year was 1984, when the school had eight players selected in the draft.

Eight former Pirates: Zack Valentine (XIV), Earnest Byner (XXVI), Robert Jones (XXX), Devone Claybrooks (XXXVII), Guy Whimper (XLII), C.J. Wilson (Super Bowl XLV), Vonta Leach (Super Bowl XLVII), and John Jett (XXVII, XXX) have won Super Bowls with their respective teams. Five Pirates also have been elected to the Pro Bowl: Tony Collins (1983), Earnest Byner, (1990) and (1991), Jeff Blake, (1995), Rod Coleman (2005) and Chris Johnson (2008), (2009) and (2010).

Key B BackIn American and Canadian football, a back is a player who is lined up behind the linemen, the players who line up closest to the line of scrimmage. 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

Player selection

Draft Player name Position NFL teamThis is the team that drafted the player, not their most recent team. Notes Ref Year Round Pick Overall 1951 28 12 339 Roger Thrift QB Browns –1961 5 8 64 Glenn Bass TE CardinalsNFL draft – 23 – – Glenn Bass TE ChargersAFL draft –1964 14 5 187 Tom Michel RB VikingsNFL draft – 19 – – Tom Michel RB RaidersAFL draft – 1969 17 1 417 Wayne Lineberry LB Bills –1973 16 1 391 Tim Dameron WR Oilers – 17 22 438 Les Strayhorn RB Cowboys –1974 4 2 80 Carl Summerell QB Giants – 4 17 95 Carlester Crumpler Sr. RB Bills – 1977 6 27 166 Reggie Pinkney DB Lions – 1978 6 28 166 Harold Randolph LB Cowboys –1979 2 28 56 ^Zack Valentine LB Steelers – 6 21 158 Eddie Hicks RB Giants – 1980 11 11 288 Sam Harrell RB Vikings – 12 9 314 Mike Brewington LB Chiefs – 1981 2 19 47 Tony Collins RB Patriots Pro Bowl (1983) 1982 4 2 85 George Crump DE Patriots – 4 7 90 Tootie Robbins T Cardinals – 1983 2 18 46 Jody Schulz LB Eagles – 1984 2 27 55 Steve Hamilton DE Redskins – 4 27 111 Terry Long G Steelers – 5 3 115 Clint Harris DB Giants – 5 13 125 Jeff Pegues LB Redskins – 5 21 133 Hal Stephens DE Rams – 10 1 253 Norwood Vann TE Rams – 10 28 280 ^Earnest Byner RB Browns Pro Bowl (1990) (1991)70 Greatest Redskins 11 4 284 John Robertson T Eagles – 1985 3 24 80 Stefon Adams DB Raiders – 8 4 200 Ricky Nichols WR Colts – 1986 6 27 165 Kevin Walker DB Buccaneers – 10 3 252 Tony Baker RB Falcons – 1988 8 5 198 Anthony Simpson RB Buccaneers – 10 4 253 Ellis Dillahunt DB Bengals – 1990 3 14 67 Walter Wilson WR Chargers – 5 1 110 Junior Robinson DB Patriots – 7 14 179 James Singletary LB Colts – 10 27 275 Anthony Thompson LB Broncos – 1991 9 3 226 Ernie Logan DE Falcons – 1992 1 24 24 ^Robert Jones LB Cowboys Pro Bowl (1994) 6 26 166 Jeff Blake QB Jets Pro Bowl (1995) 8 14 210 Luke Fisher TE Vikings – 9 26 250 Chris Hall DB Cowboys – 10 22 274 Dion Johnson WR Oilers – 1993 6 8 148 Tom Scott T Bengals – 1994 6 4 165 Bernard Carter LB Buccaneers – 7 8 202 Carlester Crumpler TE Seahawks – 1996 4 16 111 Emmanuel McDaniel DB Panthers – 5 2 134 Jerris McPhail RB Dolphins – 1997 5 1 131 Lamont Burns G Jets – 1998 3 21 82 Larry Shannon WR Dolphins–1999 5 20 153 Rod Coleman DE Raiders Pro Bowl (2005) 6 32 231 Troy Smith WR Eagles – 2002 4 10 108 David Garrard QB Jaguars Pro Bowl (2009) 7 30 241 Leonard Henry RB Dolphins – 2004 7 45 246 Brian Rimpf T Ravens – 2006 4 32 129 #Guy Whimper T Giants – 2007 5 9 146 *Aundrae Allison KR, WR Vikings – 2008 1 24 24 Chris Johnson RB Titans Pro Bowl (2008), (2009), (2010) 2009 5 13 149 Davon Drew TE Ravens –2010 2 14 46 #Linval Joseph DT GiantsPro Bowl (2017) 7 14 221 Matt Dodge P Giants – 7 23 230 #C. J. Wilson DE Packers –2011 6 11 176 *Dwayne Harris WR CowboysPro Bowl (2017)2015 4 8 107 Justin Hardy WR Falcons –2017 2 5 37 Zay Jones WR Bills –2021 4 34 139 D'Ante Smith OT Bengals –2025 3 12 76 Shavon Revel CB Cowboys –2026 7 2 218 Anthony Smith WR Cowboys –

Notes

Notable undrafted players Note: No drafts held before 1920 Year Player Position Debut Team Notes 1985 RB Washington Redskins — 1991 LB Atlanta Falcons — 1992 P Minnesota Vikings — 2000 DT Kansas City Chiefs — 2004 WR Dallas Cowboys — FB Green Bay Packers — 2011 T Washington Redskins — 2012 QB Atlanta Falcons — WR Washington Redskins — 2015 QB Chicago Bears — 2016 CB Green Bay Packers — 2021 K Baltimore Ravens — 2022 WR Pittsburgh Steelers — CB Denver Broncos — 2023 TE New York Giants — QB Seattle Seahawks — WR Seattle Seahawks — RB Baltimore Ravens — WR San Francisco 49ers — 2024 WR Los Angeles Chargers — S Dallas Cowboys — 2025 WR Cleveland Browns — 2026 DL Philadelphia Eagles —

References