List of Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens in the NFL draft
The Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team, representing the University of Delaware, has had 29 players drafted into the National Football League (NFL) since the league began holding drafts in 1936.[1][A 1] This includes one player taken in the first round, Joe Flacco in the 2008 NFL draft.[1] The Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders franchise has drafted the most Fightin' Blue Hens with five.[1] Fifteen NFL teams have drafted at least one player from Delaware.[1] Two former Blue Hens have been selected to Pro Bowls: Rich Gannon, who earned four selections as a member of the Raiders after being selected in the fourth round of the 1987 NFL draft by the New England Patriots,[4] and Mike Adams, who earned two selections as a member of the Indianapolis Colts after going undrafted in 2004.[5]
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).[6]
Before 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 massive bidding war over top prospects between the two leagues. As part of the merger agreement on June 8, 1966, the two leagues would hold a multiple round "Common Draft". Once the AFL officially merged with the NFL in 1970, the "Common Draft" simply became the NFL Draft.[2][3][7]
Key
[edit]| B | Back[A 2] | 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 | ||||
| ‡ | Won a league championship | ||||
| ♦ | Selected to an all-star game and won a league championship | ||||
Selections
[edit]American Football League
[edit]| Year | Round | Pick | Overall | Player | Team[A 3] | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | N/A | N/A | N/A | Leon Dombrowski | Oakland Raiders | LB | — |
National Football League
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ Because of the NFL–AFL merger agreement, the history of the AFL is officially recognized by the NFL and therefore this list includes the AFL Draft (1960–1966) and the Common Draft (1967–1969).[2][3]
- ^ In American and Canadian football, a back is a player who is lined up behind the linemen, the players who line up closest to the line of scrimmage.
- ^ a b This is the team that drafted the player, not their most recent team.
References
[edit]- General
- "Draft History by School–Delaware". National Football League. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
- "NFL Players who attended University of Delaware". databaseFootball.com. Archived from the original on March 7, 2008. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
- "Delaware Players/Alumni". Sports Reference LLC. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
- Specific
- ^ a b c d "Delaware Drafted Players/Alumni". Sports Reference LLC. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
- ^ a b Cross, B. Duane (January 22, 2001). "The AFL: A Football Legacy". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on December 17, 2009. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
- ^ a b "NFL History by Decade: 1961–1970". NFL. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
- ^ a b "Rich Gannon". Sports Reference LLC. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
- ^ "Mike Adams". Sports Reference LLC. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
- ^ Clayton, John (March 26, 2009). "Draft order to change for playoff teams". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on February 18, 2010.
- ^ "Time Changes for 2008 NFL Draft". NFL. April 22, 2008. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2012.