The 2009 NFL draft was the 74th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. The draft consisted of two rounds on the first day, starting at 4:00 pm EDT, and five rounds on the second day, starting at 10:00 am EDT. To compensate for the time change from the previous year and in an effort to help shorten the draft, teams were no longer on the clock for 15 minutes in the first round and 10 minutes in the second round. Each team now had 10 minutes to make their selection in the first round and seven minutes in the second round. Rounds three through seven were shortened to five minutes per team. This was the first year that the NFL used this format and it was changed again the following year for the 2010 NFL draft. The 2009 NFL draft was televised by both NFL Network and ESPN and was the first to have cheerleaders. The Detroit Lions, who became the first team in NFL history to finish a season at 0–16, used the first selection in the draft to select University of Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford.Detroit negotiated a deal with Stafford on April 24, 2009, less than 24 hours before the draft.
It was the first draft since 1983 that saw two centers being selected in the first round—Alex Mack at No. 21 to the Browns, and Eric Wood at No. 28 to the Bills. It was also the first time since the 1993 draft that a Miami Hurricanes player was not selected in the first round. As of the end of the 2018 season, the 2009 draft has seen 11 of the 32 first-round selections make the Pro Bowl, and 27 (including three punters) in total for the entire class. It has been referred to as one of the worst drafts in league history. This was the first time that a Mr. Irrelevant went on to win a Super Bowl (Ryan Succop).
As of 2025, the only remaining active players in the NFL from the 2009 draft class are Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, 49ers punter Thomas Morstead, and Giants placekicker Graham Gano.
Overview The following is the breakdown of the 256 players selected by position: 36 cornerbacks 34 wide receivers 23 defensive ends 23 linebackers 21 safeties 20 defensive tackles 20 offensive tackles 19 running backs 20 tight ends 13 guards 11 quarterbacks 7 centers 3 punters 2 fullbacks 2 kickers 1 long snapper
Player selections * compensatory selection ^ supplemental compensatory selection † Pro BowlerPlayers are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro Bowl at any time in their career.
Trades
In the explanations below, (D) denotes trades that took place during the draft, while (PD) indicates trades completed pre-draft.
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6
Round 7
Supplemental draft selections One player was selected in the 2009 Supplemental Draft:
Notable undrafted players † Pro Bowler
Selections by conference + Selection totals by college conference # Conference Playersselected Division 1 Southeastern Conference 37 I FBS 2 Atlantic Coast Conference 32 I FBS 2 Pac-10 Conference 32 I FBS 4 Big 12 Conference 28 I FBS 4 Big Ten Conference 28 I FBS 6 Big East Conference 27 I FBS 7 Mountain West Conference 16 I FBS 8 Conference USA 10 I FBS 8 Mid-American Conference 10 I FBS 8 Western Athletic Conference 10 I FBS 11 Southland Conference 4 I FCS 12 Lone Star Conference 4 II 13 Colonial Athletic Association 2 I FCS 13 Sun Belt Conference 2 I FBS 15 Big South Conference 1 I FCS 15 Big Sky Conference 1 I FCS 15 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association 1 II 15 Great West Conference 1 I FCS 15 Independent 1 I FBS 15 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference 1 I FCS 15 Missouri Valley Conference 1 I FCS 15 Ohio Valley Conference 1 I FCS 15 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference 1 II 15 Southern Conference 1 I FCS 15 Ontario University Athletics 1 CIS
Selections by position + Selection totals by player position Round QB RB FB WR TE C OG OT DE DT LB CB S K P LS 1st 3 3 0 6* 1 2 0 4 4 5 3 2 0 0 0 0 2nd 1 1 0 2 1 1 1 4 5 3 3 4 6* 0 0 0 3rd 0 2 0 7 3 1 2 1 2 5 3 9* 1 0 0 0 4th 1 3 1 4 2 1 2 3 6* 4 3 3 3 0 0 0 5th 2 2 1 4 4 0 3 5* 0 0 5* 5* 3 1 2 0 6th 4 4 0 3 4 0 1 1 3 2 2 8* 3 0 0 1 7th 0 5 0 8* 5 2 4 2 2 3 4 5 5 1 1 0 TOTAL 11 20 2 34 20 7 13 20 23 20 23 36* 21 2 3 1
See also List of first overall National Football League draft picks Mr. Irrelevant – the list of last overall National Football League draft picks
References
General references 2009 NFL Draft at Pro Football Reference 2009 NFL Draft at ESPN
Trade references
Specific references
External links 2009 NFL Draft Listing at Pro Football Reference