1979 NFL draft

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title: "1979 NFL draft" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["nfl-draft", "1979-in-american-football", "1979-nfl-season", "1979-in-sports-in-new-york-city", "may-1979-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/1979_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	1979 NFL draft
image	St Bartholomews and The Waldorf Astoria Hotel.jpg
caption	Waldorf Astoria (location of the draft), photographed in 2012
date	May 3–4, 1979
location	Waldorf Astoria Hotel
in New York City, NY
league	NFL
mr_irrelevant	Mike Almond, WR
Pittsburgh Steelers
first	Tom Cousineau, LB
Buffalo Bills
fewnum	5
fewest	Washington Redskins
mostnum	17
most	New York Jets
overall	330
rounds	12
hofnum	{{ Collapsible list
title	4
1	DT Dan Hampton
2	TE Kellen Winslow
3	QB Joe Montana
4	LB Bill Cowher
prev	1978
next	1980
::

| name = 1979 NFL draft | logo = | logosize = | logoalt = | image = St Bartholomews and The Waldorf Astoria Hotel.jpg | imagesize = | alt = | caption = Waldorf Astoria (location of the draft), photographed in 2012 | date = May 3–4, 1979 | time = | location = Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City, NY | network = | sponsor = | league = NFL | mr_irrelevant = Mike Almond, WR Pittsburgh Steelers | first = Tom Cousineau, LB Buffalo Bills | first_round = | fewnum = 5 | fewest = Washington Redskins | mostnum = 17 | most = New York Jets | overall = 330 | rounds = 12 | hofnum = {{ Collapsible list | title = 4

| 1 = DT Dan Hampton | 2 = TE Kellen Winslow | 3 = QB Joe Montana | 4 = LB Bill Cowher | prev = 1978 | next = 1980 The 1979 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 3–4, 1979, at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City, New York. The league also held a supplemental draft after the regular draft and before the regular season.

The Buffalo Bills held the first overall pick in the draft, acquired from the San Francisco 49ers in the trade which sent O. J. Simpson to his hometown team. The Bills' selection at No. 1, Ohio State linebacker Tom Cousineau, refused to sign with the Bills and instead signed a lucrative deal with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League.

Player selections

::data[format=table]

	= Pro Bowler			Hall of Fame]]r
::

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‡	Hall of Fame]]r
::

| cellspacing="2"| |}

|position=Tight end|collegeyear=1978|college=San Diego State University|collegeteam=San Diego State Aztecs|collegelink=San Diego State|cfb page exists=yes|note=from Oakland via Green Bay}}

Supplemental draft

Hall of Famers

• Kellen Winslow, tight end from Missouri, taken 1st round 13th overall by San Diego Chargers :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1995.
• Joe Montana, quarterback from Notre Dame, taken 3rd round 82nd overall by San Francisco 49ers :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2000.
• Dan Hampton, defensive tackle from Arkansas, taken 1st round 4th overall by Chicago Bears :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2002.
• Bill Cowher, linebacker from North Carolina State, undrafted and signed by Philadelphia Eagles :Inducted: For his Coaching achievements Professional Football Hall of Fame Class of 2020.

Notable undrafted players

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†	= Pro Bowler		Hall of Famer
::

References

References

1. . (October 2, 2014). ["NFL Draft Locations"](http://www.footballgeography.com/nfl-draft-sites/).
2. (October 2, 2014). "NFL Draft headed to Chicago in 2015". [[New York Giants]].
3. Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro Bowl at any time in their career.
4. Players are identified as a Hall of Famer if they have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
5. "Steelers Facts & Info". SteelerTribute.com.
6. "Pro Football Hall of Fame".
7. "Pro Football Hall of Fame".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::