This list of North Carolina A&T Aggies football players in the NFL draft includes alumni of North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University that have been drafted into the National Football League (NFL) since the league began holding drafts in 1936. Of the 33 Aggie players listed below, Bob "Stonewall" Jackson was the first player from an HBCU to be drafted by an NFL team. 3 Former A&T players have been selected to a Pro Bowl or league All-Star Game, 3 have won a championship with their respective teams and 1 has been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Each NFL franchise seeks to add new players through the annual NFL draft. The draft rules were last updated in 2009. 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). Prior to the 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 bidding war over top prospects between the two leagues. As part of the merger agreement on June 8, 1966, the two leagues held a multiple-round "common draft". Once the AFL officially merged with the NFL in 1970, the common craft became the NFL draft.
Key B Back 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) Inducted into Pro Football Hall of Fame
Selections Draft Year Round Pick in round Overall pick Team drafted to Player Position Notes Reference1950 16 6 202 New York Giants Bob "Stonewall" Jackson FB First player from an HBCU to be drafted in the NFL Draft 1955 15 10 179 Chicago Bears J.D. Smith FB 1959 22 6 258 San Francisco 49ers Burnio McQueen End 1960 20 1 229 St. Louis Cardinals Tom Day*†DE AFL All-Star Game (1965)AFL championship (1964, 1965); Buffalo Bills 1994 season in review video: "Classics." NFL Films.1961 (AFL) 26 4 204 Buffalo Bills Lorenzo Stanford T 1962 20 1 229 New York Giants Joe Taylor CB 1963 18 5 243 Baltimore Colts Luther Woodruff T 1964 (AFL) 23 3 179 New York Jets Cornell Gordon†DB AFL championship (1968)Super Bowl Champion (III) 1964 (NFL) 16 1 211 San Francisco 49ers Cornell Gordon DB Cornell Gordon elected to sign with the New York Jets of the AFL who had their draft 2 Days Earlier on Saturday November 30. 1965 (AFL) 6 6 46 San Diego Chargers Will Beasley FB 1966 (AFL) 19 - 172 Buffalo Bills Mel Phillips DB Elected to sign with the San Francisco 49ers of the NFL who held their draft on the same night 1966 (NFL) 5 5 69 San Francisco 49ers Mel Phillips DB 1968 5 5 69 Houston Oilers Elvin Bethea*‡DE Pro Bowl (1969, 1971,)Pro Football Hall of Fame (2003) 1968169411La RamsHenry HippsLB1969 5 11 115 Miami Dolphins Willie Pearson DB 1971 5 8 112 Pittsburgh Steelers Melvin Holmes OT 1972 8 26 208 Dallas Cowboys Ralph Coleman LB 1972 11 26 286 Dallas Cowboys Lonnie Leonard LB 1972 16 20 410 Oakland Raiders Willie Wright TE 1973 11 15 275 New York Giants William Wideman DT 1975 13 26 338 Washington Redskins Morris McKie DB 1976 12 2 321 Tampa Bay Buccaneers George Ragsdale DB 1979 5 27 137 Pittsburgh Steelers Dwaine Board†DE Super Bowl Champion (XVI, XIX, XXIII, XXIX) 1982 11 11 290 St. Louis Cardinals James Williams DE 1982 9 - - St. Louis Cardinals Kevin Robinson DE Kevin Robinson was a supplemental draft pick. 1984 12 14 322 Minnesota Vikings Mike Jones RB 1985 11 3 283 Minnesota Vikings Tim Williams DB 1992 5 3 115 Cincinnati Bengals Craig Thompson TE 1992 5 19 131 San Diego Chargers Kevin Little LB 1992 6 7 147 San Diego Chargers Reggie White DT 1994 6 28 198 Los Angeles Rams Ronald Edwards OT 1996 1 29 29 Pittsburgh Steelers Jamain Stephens OT 1997 3 14 78 San Diego Chargers Mike Hamilton LB 1997 7 14 215 St. Louis Rams Cedric White DE 1997 7 17 218 San Diego Chargers Toran James LB 2005 5 7 143 Green Bay Packers Junius Coston G 2017 4 12 119 Chicago Bears Tarik CohenRB Pro Bowl (2018) 2018 3 1 65 Oakland Raiders Brandon Parker OL 2019 7 11 225 Buffalo Bills Darryl Johnson Jr. DE
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