Procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players
The 1983 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 26–27, 1983 , at the New York Sheraton Hotel in New York City , New York .[1] [2] No teams elected to claim any players in the supplemental draft that year.
The draft is frequently referred to as the quarterback class of 1983 , because six quarterbacks were taken in the first round—John Elway , Todd Blackledge , Jim Kelly , Tony Eason , Ken O'Brien , and Dan Marino —the highest number of first round picks for the position, later tied by the 2024 NFL Draft . Of these quarterbacks, Elway, Kelly, Eason, and Marino played in the Super Bowl , Elway, Kelly, O'Brien, and Marino were selected to play in the Pro Bowl , and Elway, Kelly, and Marino have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame . All six quarterbacks were drafted by American Football Conference (AFC) teams, with every member of the five-team AFC East (the Baltimore Colts , Miami Dolphins , Buffalo Bills , New York Jets , and New England Patriots ) selecting a quarterback. In eleven of the sixteen years following this draft, the AFC was represented in the Super Bowl by a team led by one of these quarterbacks: five with the Denver Broncos and Elway, four with the Bills and Kelly, one with the Dolphins and Marino, and one with the Patriots and Eason.
They met with little success in the Super Bowl, however, compiling a 2–9 record among them, with an 0–9 record for their first 14 years in the league. The only two wins were by Elway in XXXII and XXXIII during his final two seasons in 1997 and 1998. Three of the most lopsided Super Bowl losses in history also came at the hands of quarterbacks from the Class of '83: Elway, a 55–10 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in XXIV ; Eason, a 46–10 loss to the Chicago Bears in XX ; and Kelly, a 52–17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in XXVII . Marino would only reach the Super Bowl once in a 38–16 loss to San Francisco in XIX following the end of his second season, when he won league MVP. Kelly and the Bills would appear in the Super Bowl for a record four consecutive years, from 1990 to 1993, but lost all four.
Of the six first round quarterbacks drafted, Hall of Famers Elway and Kelly did not sign with the teams that selected them for the 1983 season. Elway, who had made his antipathy towards the Colts known long before the draft, was also a promising baseball player in the New York Yankees organization. With Yankees owner George Steinbrenner aggressively pursuing a commitment from Elway to play baseball full-time, Elway and his agent, Marvin Demoff, successfully leveraged the threat of Elway abandoning football altogether to compel the Colts to trade Elway to the Broncos a few days after selecting him with the first overall pick of the draft.[3]
Kelly, the other holdout, instead signed with the Houston Gamblers of the United States Football League (USFL), where he led the springtime circuit in passing in both 1984 and 1985. Kelly was set to play for the New Jersey Generals when the USFL planned to switch to a fall season in 1986, but when the USFL won only $1 (trebled to $3) from its antitrust lawsuit vs. the NFL on July 29, 1986, Kelly finally signed with the Bills three weeks later.
Including the aforementioned Elway, Kelly, and Marino, a total of seven players drafted in the first round have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and eight players overall have been inducted. Each round of this draft also contained at least one player who was later selected to play in the Pro Bowl. Several websites, including Bleacher Report and Athlon Sports , have called the class of 1983 the greatest of all time.[4] [5]
Player selections [ edit ] ^ a b May sometimes be referred to as an edge rusher (EDGE) ^ Also known as offensive guard (OG) ^ Also known as placekicker (PK) ^ Also known as inside linebacker (ILB)
Round one [ edit ] Round two [ edit ] Round three [ edit ] Round four [ edit ] Round five [ edit ] Pick # NFL team Player Position College 113 Baltimore Colts Sid Abramowitz Tackle Tulsa 114 Houston Oilers Larry Moriarty Running back Notre Dame 115 Detroit Lions Demetrious Johnson Safety Missouri 116 Denver Broncos Weedy Harris Linebacker Houston 117 San Francisco 49ers Riki Ellison Linebacker USC 118 New England Patriots Smiley Creswell Defensive end Michigan State 119 Kansas City Chiefs Jim Arnold Punter Vanderbilt 120 Philadelphia Eagles Byron Darby Defensive tackle USC 121 Detroit Lions Steve Mott Center Alabama 122 Cleveland Browns Bill Contz Tackle Penn State 123 Seattle Seahawks Chris Castor Wide receiver Duke 124 New York Giants Malcolm Scott Tight end Louisiana State 125 Denver Broncos Bruce Baldwin Defensive back Harding 126 Buffalo Bills Matt Vandenboom Defensive back Wisconsin 127 Minnesota Vikings Mark Stewart Linebacker Washington 128 New England Patriots Darryl Lewis Tight end Texas-Arlington 129 Atlanta Falcons Brett Miller Tackle Iowa 130 St. Louis Cardinals Steve Bird Wide receiver Eastern Kentucky 131 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tony Chickillo Defensive tackle Miami (FL) 132 Green Bay Packers Bryan Thomas Running back Pittsburgh 133 Pittsburgh Steelers Paul Skansi Wide receiver Washington 134 Los Angeles Rams Otis Grant Wide receiver Michigan State 135 Dallas Cowboys Chuck McSwain Running back Clemson 136 New York Jets John Walker Defensive tackle Nebraska-Omaha 137 Cincinnati Bengals Jeff Christensen Quarterback Eastern Illinois 138 Los Angeles Raiders Dokie Williams Wide receiver UCLA 139 Houston Oilers Jerome Foster Defensive tackle Ohio State 140 Pittsburgh Steelers Gregg Garrity Wide receiver Penn State
Round six [ edit ] Pick # NFL team Player Position College 141 San Diego Chargers Trumaine Johnson Wide receiver Grambling 142 Houston Oilers Steve Haworth Defensive back Oklahoma 143 Denver Broncos Victor Heflin Defensive back Delaware State 144 Los Angeles Rams Gary Kowalski Tackle Boston College 145 Cleveland Browns Tim Stracka Tight end Wisconsin 146 Kansas City Chiefs Ellis Gardner Tackle Georgia Tech 147 Philadelphia Eagles Victor Oatis Wide receiver Northwest Louisiana 148 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Gene Branton Wide receiver Texas Southern 149 Cleveland Browns Dave Puzzuoli Defensive tackle Pittsburgh 150 Seattle Seahawks Reginald Gipson Running back Alabama A&M 151 New York Giants Darrell Patterson Linebacker Texas Christian 152 Cincinnati Bengals Kiki DeAyala Linebacker Texas 153 New York Giants Kevin Belcher Guard Texas-El Paso 154 Detroit Lions Todd Brown Wide receiver Nebraska 155 New England Patriots Mike Bass Kicker Illinois 156 Atlanta Falcons Anthony Allen Wide receiver Washington 157 St. Louis Cardinals George Schmitt Defensive back Delaware 158 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Ken Kaplan Tackle New Hampshire 159 Minnesota Vikings Mike Jones Wide receiver Tennessee State 160 Green Bay Packers Ron Sams Guard Pittsburgh 161 Baltimore Colts Grant Feasel Center Abilene Christian 162 Dallas Cowboys Reggie Collier Quarterback Southern Mississippi 163 New York Jets Vincent White Running back Stanford 164 Pittsburgh Steelers Eric Williams Defensive back North Carolina State 165 Cincinnati Bengals Larry Kinnebrew Running back Tennessee State 166 Washington Redskins Bob Winckler Tackle Wisconsin 167 Miami Dolphins Reggie Roby Punter Iowa 168 Washington Redskins Babe Laufenberg Quarterback Indiana
Round seven [ edit ] Pick # NFL team Player Position College 169 Baltimore Colts Alvin Moore Running back Arizona State 170 Houston Oilers Herkie Walls Wide receiver Texas 171 Los Angeles Rams Jeff Simmons Wide receiver USC 172 Denver Broncos Myron Dupree Defensive back North Carolina Central 173 Kansas City Chiefs Ken Thomas Running back San Jose State 174 Philadelphia Eagles Anthony Edgar Running back Hawaii 175 San Francisco 49ers Gary Moten Linebacker Southern Methodist 176 Cleveland Browns Rocky Belk Wide receiver Miami (FL) 177 Seattle Seahawks Sam Merriman Linebacker Idaho 178 New York Giants Perry Williams Cornerback North Carolina State 179 Kansas City Chiefs Daryl Posey Running back Mississippi College 180 Buffalo Bills Gurnest Brown Defensive tackle Maryland 181 Detroit Lions Mike Black Punter Arizona State 182 Philadelphia Eagles Jon Schultheis Guard Princeton 183 Atlanta Falcons Jeff Turk Defensive back Boise State 184 St. Louis Cardinals Carlos Scott Center Texas-El Paso 185 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Weldon Ledbetter Running back Oklahoma 186 Minnesota Vikings Carl Lee Cornerback Marshall 187 New England Patriots Craig James Running back Southern Methodist 188 Green Bay Packers Jessie Clark Running back Arkansas 189 Dallas Cowboys Chris Schultz Tackle Arizona 190 New York Jets Darrin Newbold Linebacker SW Missouri State 191 Pittsburgh Steelers Mark Kirchner Guard Baylor 192 San Diego Chargers Bill Elko Defensive tackle Louisiana State 193 Cincinnati Bengals James Griffin Defensive back Middle Tennessee State 194 Los Angeles Raiders Jeff McCall Running back Clemson 195 Miami Dolphins Keith Woetzel Linebacker Rutgers 196 Washington Redskins Kelvin Bryant Running back North Carolina
Round eight [ edit ] Pick # NFL team Player Position College 197 Denver Broncos Gary Kubiak Quarterback Texas A&M 198 Houston Oilers Robert Thompson Linebacker Michigan 199 Pittsburgh Steelers Henry Odom Running back South Carolina State 200 Los Angeles Rams Troy West Defensive back USC 201 Philadelphia Eagles Rich Kraynak Linebacker Pittsburgh 202 San Diego Chargers Earnest Jackson Running back Texas A&M 203 Chicago Bears Richard Dent Defensive end Tennessee State 204 Kansas City Chiefs Irv Eatman Tackle UCLA 205 New York Giants Andy Headen Linebacker Clemson 206 New Orleans Saints David Greenwood Defensive back Wisconsin 207 Buffalo Bills James Durham Defensive back Houston 208 Detroit Lions Bill Stapleton Defensive back Washington 209 Cleveland Browns Mike McClearn Guard Temple 210 Seattle Seahawks Matt Hernandez Tackle Purdue 211 St. Louis Cardinals Bob Harris Defensive back Auburn 212 Tampa Bay Buccaneers John Samuelson Linebacker Azusa Pacific 213 Minnesota Vikings Norris Brown Tight end Georgia 214 New England Patriots Ronnie Lippett Defensive back Miami (FL) 215 Atlanta Falcons John Rade Linebacker Boise State 216 Green Bay Packers Carlton Briscoe Defensive back McNeese State 217 New York Jets Davlin Mullen Defensive back Western Kentucky 218 Pittsburgh Steelers Craig Dunaway Tight end Michigan 219 Chicago Bears Mark Bortz Guard Iowa 220 Dallas Cowboys Lawrence Ricks Running back Michigan 221 Cincinnati Bengals Mike Martin Wide receiver Illinois 222 Los Angeles Raiders Mike Dotterer Running back Stanford 223 Miami Dolphins Mark Clayton Wide receiver Louisville 224 Washington Redskins Todd Hallstrom Tackle Minnesota
Round nine [ edit ] Pick # NFL team Player Position College 225 Baltimore Colts Jim Mills Tackle Hawaii 226 Houston Oilers Kevin Potter Defensive back Missouri 227 Los Angeles Rams Jack Belcher Center Boston College 228 Denver Broncos Brian Hawkins Defensive back San Jose State 229 San Francisco 49ers Mike Mularkey Tight end Florida 230 Chicago Bears Rob Fada Guard Pittsburgh 231 Kansas City Chiefs Adam Lingner Center Illinois 232 Philadelphia Eagles Rich Pelzer Tackle Rhode Island 233 New England Patriots Ricky Williams Running back Langston 234 Buffalo Bills George Parker Running back Norfolk State 235 Chicago Bears Mark Zavagnin Linebacker Notre Dame 236 Seattle Seahawks Bob Clasby Defensive tackle Notre Dame 237 New York Giants Ali Haji-Sheikh Kicker Michigan 238 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Hasson Arbubakrr Defensive tackle Texas Tech 239 Minnesota Vikings Rod Achter Wide receiver Toledo 240 New England Patriots Mark Keel Tight end Arizona 241 Baltimore Colts Chris Rose Tackle Stanford 242 St. Louis Cardinals Otis Brown Running back Jackson State 243 Green Bay Packers Robin Ham Center West Texas State 244 Pittsburgh Steelers Blake Wingle Guard UCLA 245 San Diego Chargers Mike Green Linebacker Oklahoma State 246 Dallas Cowboys Al Gross Defensive back Arizona 247 New York Jets Bobby Humphery Wide receiver New Mexico State 248 Cincinnati Bengals Stanley Wilson Running back Oklahoma 249 Los Angeles Raiders Kent Jordan Tight end St. Mary's (CA) 250 Miami Dolphins Mark Brown Linebacker Purdue 251 Washington Redskins Marcus Gilbert Running back Texas Christian
Round ten [ edit ] Pick # NFL team Player Position College 252 Baltimore Colts Ronald Hopkins Defensive back Murray State 253 Green Bay Packers Byron Williams Wide receiver Texas-Arlington 254 Denver Broncos Walt Bowyer Defensive end Arizona State 255 Minnesota Vikings Melvin Brown Defensive back Mississippi 256 Chicago Bears Anthony Hutchison Running back Texas Tech 257 Kansas City Chiefs Mark Shumate Defensive tackle Wisconsin 258 Philadelphia Eagles Thomas Strauthers Defensive tackle Jackson State 259 San Francisco 49ers Jeff Merrell Defensive tackle Nebraska 260 Buffalo Bills Richard Tharpe Defensive tackle Louisville 261 Detroit Lions Dave Laube Guard Penn State 262 Cleveland Browns Thomas Hopkins Tackle Alabama State 263 Seattle Seahawks Pete Speros Guard Penn State 264 New England Patriots James Williams Tight end Wyoming 265 New England Patriots Toby Williams Defensive end Nebraska 266 Minnesota Vikings Walter Tate Center Tennessee State 267 New England Patriots Tom Ramsey Quarterback UCLA 268 Atlanta Falcons Ralph Giacomarro Punter Penn State 269 St. Louis Cardinals Tim Lucas Linebacker California 270 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Darius Durham Wide receiver San Diego State 271 Green Bay Packers Jimmy Thomas Defensive back Indiana 272 San Diego Chargers Bruce Mathison Quarterback Nebraska 273 Dallas Cowboys Eric Moran Tackle Washington 274 New York Jets Dan Fike Tackle Florida 275 Pittsburgh Steelers Roosevelt Straughter Defensive back N.E. Louisiana 276 Cincinnati Bengals Tim Krumrie Defensive tackle Wisconsin 277 Los Angeles Raiders Mervyn Fernandez Wide receiver San Jose State 278 Miami Dolphins Anthony Reed Running back South Carolina State 279 Washington Redskins Geff Gandy Linebacker Baylor
Round eleven [ edit ] Pick # NFL team Player Position College 280 Baltimore Colts Jim Bob Taylor Quarterback Georgia Tech 281 New York Giants Lee Jenkins Defensive back Tennessee 282 Los Angeles Rams Danny Triplett Linebacker Clemson 283 Denver Broncos Don Bailey Center Miami (FL) 284 Kansas City Chiefs Dwayne Jackson Defensive end South Carolina State 285 Philadelphia Eagles Steve Sebahar Center Washington State 286 Chicago Bears Gary Worthy Running back Wilmington (OH) 287 Detroit Lions Ben Tate Running back North Carolina Central 288 Cleveland Browns Boyce Green Running back Carson-Newman 289 San Francisco 49ers Jesse Sapolu Center Hawaii 290 Seattle Seahawks Bob Mayberry Guard Clemson 291 New York Giants Clenzie Pierson Defensive tackle Rice 292 New England Patriots Steve Parker Wide receiver Abilene Christian 293 Buffalo Bills Larry White Defensive end Jackson State 294 New England Patriots Calvin Eason Defensive back Houston 295 Atlanta Falcons John Salley Defensive back Wyoming 296 St. Louis Cardinals Aaron Williams Wide receiver Washington 297 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Mark Witte Tight end North Texas State 298 Minnesota Vikings Brian Butcher Guard Clemson 299 Green Bay Packers Bucky Scribner Punter Kansas 300 Dallas Cowboys Dan Taylor Tackle Idaho State 301 New York Jets Mike Harmon Wide receiver Mississippi 302 Pittsburgh Steelers Mark Raugh Tight end West Virginia 303 San Diego Chargers Tim Kearse Wide receiver San Jose State 304 Cincinnati Bengals Gary Williams Wide receiver Ohio State 305 Cleveland Browns Howard McAdoo Linebacker Michigan State 306 Miami Dolphins Joe Lukens Guard Ohio State 307 San Diego Chargers Tim Spencer Running back Ohio State
Round twelve [ edit ] Pick # NFL team Player Position College 308 Baltimore Colts Carl Williams Wide receiver Texas Southern 309 New York Giants Robbie Jones Linebacker Alabama 310 Denver Broncos Karl Mecklenburg Linebacker Minnesota 311 Los Angeles Rams Clete Casper Quarterback Washington State 312 Philadelphia Eagles David Mangrum Quarterback Baylor 313 Chicago Bears Oliver Williams Wide receiver Illinois 314 San Diego Chargers Billy Blaylock Defensive back Tennessee Tech 315 Kansas City Chiefs Ken Jones Tackle Tennessee 316 Cleveland Browns Paul Farren Tackle Boston University 317 Seattle Seahawks Don Dow Tackle Washington 318 New York Giants Frank Magwood Wide receiver Clemson 319 New England Patriots Waddell Kelly Running back Arkansas State 320 Buffalo Bills Julius Dawkins Wide receiver Pittsburgh 321 Detroit Lions Jim Lane Center Idaho State 322 Atlanta Falcons Allama Matthews Tight end Vanderbilt 323 St. Louis Cardinals James Lane Linebacker Alabama State 324 Tampa Bay Buccaneers John Higginbotham Defensive tackle N.E. Oklahoma 325 Minnesota Vikings Maurice Turner Running Back Utah State 326 New England Patriots Andy Ekern Tackle Missouri 327 Green Bay Packers John Harvey Linebacker USC 328 New York Jets Stu Crum Kicker Tulsa 329 San Diego Chargers Chuck Ehin Defensive tackle Brigham Young 330 Pittsburgh Steelers Roger Wiley Running back Sam Houston State 331 Dallas Cowboys Lorenzo Bouier Running back Maine 332 Cincinnati Bengals Andre Young Linebacker Bowling Green 333 Los Angeles Raiders Scott Lindquist Quarterback Northern Arizona 334 Miami Dolphins Anthony Carter Wide receiver Michigan 335[8] New York Giants John Tuggle Running back California
= Pro Bowler[6] = Hall of Famer
Hall of Fame inductees [ edit ] Eric Dickerson , running back from Southern Methodist, taken 1st round 2nd overall by Los Angeles Rams Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame Class of 1999.[9] Jim Kelly , quarterback from Miami, taken 1st round 14th overall by Buffalo Bills Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame Class of 2002.[10] John Elway , quarterback from Stanford, taken 1st round 1st overall by Baltimore Colts Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame Class of 2004.[10] Dan Marino , quarterback from Pittsburgh, taken 1st round 27th overall by Miami Dolphins Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame Class of 2005.[10] Bruce Matthews , offensive lineman from Southern California, taken 1st round 9th overall by Houston Oilers Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame Class of 2007.[10] Darrell Green , cornerback from Texas A&I, taken 1st round 28th overall by Washington Redskins Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame Class of 2008.[10] Richard Dent , defensive end from Tennessee State, taken 8th round 203rd overall by Chicago Bears Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame Class of 2011.[10] Jim Covert , offensive lineman from Pittsburgh, taken 1st round 6th overall by Chicago Bears Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame Class of 2020.[10] Notable undrafted players [ edit ] References [ edit ] ^ "NFL Draft Locations" . FootballGeography.com . October 2, 2014. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved October 23, 2014 . ^ Salomone, Dan (October 2, 2014). "NFL Draft headed to Chicago in 2015" . Giants.com . New York Giants . Archived from the original on September 30, 2015. Retrieved June 3, 2015 . ^ Janofsky, Michael (May 3, 1983). "ELWAY TRADED TO BRONCOS BY COLTS - The New York Times" . The New York Times . ^ Paul Thelen (April 18, 2013). "The Greatest Draft Class in NFL History" . Bleacher Report . Retrieved May 1, 2015 . ^ "10 Greatest Draft Classes in NFL History" . Athlonsports.com | Expert Predictions, Picks, and Previews . ^ a b c d Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro Bowl at any time in their career. ^ Players are identified as a Hall of Famer if they have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. ^ This last selection is commonly referred to as Mr. Irrelevant . ^ List of 1990s Hall of Fame Inductee's at profootballhof.com "Pro Football Hall of Fame" . Archived from the original on July 31, 2008. Retrieved October 11, 2008 . ^ a b c d e f g List of 2000s Hall of Fame Inductee's at profootballhof.com "Pro Football Hall of Fame" . Archived from the original on July 31, 2008. Retrieved October 11, 2008 . External links [ edit ]