The 1974 NFL draft took place at the Americana Hotel in New York City, New York, on January 29–30, 1974.[1][2] Each of the 26 NFL teams were granted 17 selections for a total of 442 picks.[3]
Many experts consider the Pittsburgh Steelers to have had the best draft class in NFL history as they selected four players later inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame (Lynn Swann, Jack Lambert, John Stallworth, and Mike Webster). A fifth Hall of Famer, Donnie Shell, was signed by Pittsburgh after going unselected in the draft.[4] The closest any other team has come to this success in a draft is the Dallas Cowboys' 1964 draft, when three Hall of Famers were taken.[5] The Green Bay Packers also selected three Hall of Famers in 1958 (Jim Taylor, Ray Nitschke, and Jerry Kramer).
The Houston Oilers had the first pick in the 1974 draft based on their one-win record in 1973, but they traded the first overall pick—as well as the first pick of the third round, #53 overall—to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for defensive end Tody Smith and wide receiver Billy Parks.[6] Dallas used the two picks to select two future Pro Bowlers, defensive end Ed "Too Tall" Jones and quarterback Danny White.
This was the first NFL draft since 1938 to not have any quarterbacks taken in the first round, and one of only five. Along with 1988, it is the only draft where no quarterback was taken in the first two rounds, and 1974 is generally regarded as one of the worst quarterback draft classes of all time, with only Danny White (the first quarterback taken, with the first pick in the third round) and fourth round pick Mike Boryla reaching the Pro Bowl, and even Boryla was out of the NFL by 1978.[7]
In the seventeenth round, the Green Bay Packers selected wide receiver Randy Woodfield of Portland State (428th overall). Cut in training camp, he later became a convicted serial killer, known as the 'I-5 killer'.[8]
^"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.
^"Noll Seeks First-Round Draft Ace No. 6". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 29, 1974. Retrieved October 25, 2011.
^Battista, Judy (January 15, 2020). "Pro Football Hall of Fame Centennial Class thick with NFL history". NFL.com. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
^Archer, Todd (April 25, 2016). "Three Hall of Famers make 1964 Cowboys' best draft class". ESPN. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
^"Dallas Cowboys.com: Cowboys Top 50 List: No. 26 Ed Too Tall Jones". Archived from the original on July 20, 2009.
^"NFL Draft History: Quarterback Draft Class Facts/Figures". ELDORADO.
^"Randall Woodfield, the I-5 killer, former Green Bay Packer".
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