1978 NFL draft
National Football League draft
title: "1978 NFL draft" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["nfl-draft", "1978-in-american-football", "1978-nfl-season", "1978-in-sports-in-new-york-city", "may-1978-sports-events-in-the-united-states", "american-football-in-new-york-city", "1970s-in-manhattan", "sporting-events-in-new-york-city", "sports-in-manhattan"] description: "National Football League draft" topic_path: "sports" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1978_NFL_draft" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary National Football League draft ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox sports draft"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | 1978 NFL draft |
| image | Roosevelt Hotel.jpg |
| caption | Roosevelt Hotel (location of the draft), photographed in 2008 |
| date | May 2–3, 1978 |
| location | Roosevelt Hotel |
| in New York City, NY | |
| league | NFL |
| mr_irrelevant | Lee Washburn, G |
| Dallas Cowboys | |
| first | Earl Campbell, RB |
| Houston Oilers | |
| fewnum | 5 |
| fewest | Denver Broncos |
| mostnum | 18 |
| most | Cincinnati Bengals |
| overall | 334 |
| rounds | 12 |
| hofnum | {{ Collapsible list |
| title | 4 |
| 1 | RB Earl Campbell |
| 2 | WR James Lofton |
| 3 | TE Ozzie Newsome |
| 4 | QB Warren Moon |
| prev | 1977 |
| next | 1979 |
| :: |
| name = 1978 NFL draft | logo = | logosize = | logoalt = | image = Roosevelt Hotel.jpg | imagesize = | alt = | caption = Roosevelt Hotel (location of the draft), photographed in 2008 | date = May 2–3, 1978 | time = | location = Roosevelt Hotel in New York City, NY | network = | sponsor = | league = NFL | mr_irrelevant = Lee Washburn, G Dallas Cowboys | first = Earl Campbell, RB Houston Oilers | first_round = | fewnum = 5 | fewest = Denver Broncos | mostnum = 18 | most = Cincinnati Bengals | overall = 334 | rounds = 12 | hofnum = {{ Collapsible list | title = 4 | 1 = RB Earl Campbell | 2 = WR James Lofton | 3 = TE Ozzie Newsome | 4 = QB Warren Moon | prev = 1977 | next = 1979 The 1978 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 May 2–3, 1978, at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City, New York. The league also held a supplemental draft after the regular draft and before the regular season.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had the first overall pick in the 1978 draft, by virtue of their 2–12 record in 1977. Tampa Bay traded the pick to the Oilers, for tight end Jimmie Giles and the Oilers' first- and second-round picks in the 1978 draft, and their third- and fifth-round picks in 1979.
Leon White, who was drafted in the third round, went on to have an extensive professional wrestling career as Big Van Vader.
Player selections
::data[format=table]
| = Pro Bowler | Hall of Fame]]r | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| :: |
::data[format=table]
| ‡ | Hall of Fame]]r |
|---|---|
| :: |
| cellspacing="2"| |}
--
Round 12
::data[format=table]
| Pick # | NFL team | Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 307 | Kansas City Chiefs | Willie Brock | Center | Colorado |
| 308 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Kevin McLee | Running back | Georgia |
| 309 | Buffalo Bills | Richard Crump | Running back | Northeastern State (OK) |
| 310 | New Orleans Saints | Larry Hardy | Tight end | Jackson State |
| 311 | New York Jets | Alan Williams | Punter | Florida |
| 312 | Green Bay Packers | Eason Ramson | Tight end | Washington State |
| 313 | New York Giants | Greg Lawson | Running back | Western Illinois |
| 314 | San Francisco 49ers | Dan Irons | Tackle | Texas Tech |
| 315 | Philadelphia Eagles | Mark Slater | Center | Minnesota |
| 316 | Seattle Seahawks | Jeff Bergeron | Running back | Lamar |
| 317 | Cleveland Browns | Leo Biedermann | Tackle | California |
| 318 | Detroit Lions | Mark Patterson | Defensive back | Washington State |
| 319 | St. Louis Cardinals | Anthony Clay | Linebacker | South Carolina State |
| 320 | Atlanta Falcons | Daria Butler | Linebacker | Oklahoma State |
| 321 | San Diego Chargers | Kevin Bell | Wide receiver | Lamar |
| 322 | Houston Oilers | John Schuhmacher | Guard | USC |
| 323 | Cincinnati Bengals | Kim Featsent | Wide receiver | Kent State |
| 324 | Washington Redskins | Steve McCabe | Guard | Bowdoin |
| 325 | Chicago Bears | Lew Sibley | Linebacker | Louisiana State |
| 326 | Minnesota Vikings | Jeff Morrow | Tackle | Minnesota |
| 327 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Brad Carr | Linebacker | Maryland |
| 328 | New England Patriots | John Gibney | Center | Colgate |
| 329 | Baltimore Colts | Bruce Allen | Punter | Richmond |
| 330 | Los Angeles Rams | Gus Coppens | Tackle | UCLA |
| 331 | Miami Dolphins | Mike Moore | Running back | Middle Tennessee State |
| 332 | Oakland Raiders | Joe Conron | Wide receiver | Pacific |
| 333 | Miami Dolphins | Bill Kenney | Quarterback | Northern Colorado |
| 334 | Dallas Cowboys | Lee Washburn | Guard | Montana State |
| :: |
::data[format=table]
| = Pro Bowler | Hall of Fame]]r | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| :: |
Supplemental draft
Notable undrafted players
::data[format=table]
| = Pro Bowler | ‡ | Hall of Fame]]r | |
|---|---|---|---|
| :: |
Hall of Famers
- Earl Campbell, running back from Texas, taken 1st round 1st overall by Houston Oilers :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1991.
- Ozzie Newsome, wide receiver from Alabama, taken 1st round 23rd overall by Cleveland Browns :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1999.
- James Lofton, wide receiver from Stanford, taken 1st round 6th overall by Green Bay Packers :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2003.
- Warren Moon, quarterback from Washington, signed undrafted by Houston Oilers :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2006.
References
References
- . (October 2, 2014). ["NFL Draft Locations"](http://www.footballgeography.com/nfl-draft-sites/).
- (October 2, 2014). "NFL Draft headed to Chicago in 2015". [[New York Giants]].
- Wire services. "Oilers make a deal". Eugene Register-Guard. Apr 25, 1978
- (October 23, 2005). "NFL career was ended by an injury - Pro wrestler Vader has son playing with OU". [[The Oklahoman]].
- 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.
- (August 2018). "Heisman Trophy".
- Sheeley, Glenn. (May 3, 1978). "Did Noll Win Draft Lottery?". [[Pittsburgh Press]].
- This last selection is commonly referred to as [[Mr. Irrelevant]].
- "Pro Football Hall of Fame".
- "Pro Football Hall of Fame".
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