2011 NFL Draft
Encyclopedia
The 2011 NFL Draft was the 76th installment of the annual NFL Draft, where the franchises of the National Football League
select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Radio City Music Hall
over three days: this year, the first round took place on Thursday, April 28, 2011; the second and third rounds took place on Friday, April 29; with the final four rounds on Saturday, April 30, 2011.
The Carolina Panthers
, who had the worst record for the 2010 NFL season at 2–14, had the right to the first selection in each round of the draft. With the first pick the Panthers selected Auburn University
quarterback
Cam Newton
, who was the 2010 Heisman Trophy winner.
A second Heisman Trophy winner, running back
Mark Ingram
from Alabama
was selected by New Orleans
late in the first round. This was the eleventh draft which included multiple Heisman winners, and the first time ever that it has occurred in consecutive drafts (Sam Bradford
and Tim Tebow
in 2010
). Five of the first six picks played college football in the Southeastern Conference
(SEC).
Teams were allowed ten minutes to make each selection in the first round, seven minutes per selection in the second round and five minutes in each of the subsequent rounds.
during the event and chanting "We want football."
Due to the labor situation and the lockout, franchises were not able to trade players for draft selections (trades involving only selections were permitted), and were unable to sign or even contact drafted or undrafted players until the lockout was lifted. Because of the lockout, the Panthers could not sign or even negotiate with their first draft pick before the draft began, as other teams have done in years past. The restriction on trading players extended to players selected in this draft—teams were unable to swap any player once selected, e.g. as happened in 2004
when the San Diego Chargers
and New York Giants
completed a draft day trade involving Eli Manning
and Philip Rivers
who had been selected first and fourth respectively. In addition, with no agreement in place between owners and players mandating future drafts, teams were advised by the league that any trades involving future draft picks would be made at the teams' "own risk". This warning did not dissuade several teams from making trades involving future selections.
The National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) considered plans to dissuade potential prospects from attending the draft, but a record 25 potential draftees attended the event, including Von Miller, who was one of the named plaintiffs in the players' antitrust lawsuit against the league.
eligibility and declare themselves eligible to be selected in the draft. To be eligible for the draft, a player must be out of high school for at least three years.
The selection of Newton, a junior, marked the third straight draft where the first overall selection was an underclassman. Since non-seniors were first eligible to be drafted in 1990
, fourteen first overall picks ( including six of the last seven) have been players who have entered the draft early. Eight of the first ten players chosen in this draft were non-seniors, which broke the record of six set in 1997
and matched in 2006
. Jake Locker
and Von Miller
were the only two seniors among the first ten draftees.
The following is the breakdown of the 254 players selected by position
:
athletic conferences:
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York City's Rockefeller Center. Its nickname is the Showplace of the Nation, and it was for a time the leading tourist destination in the city...
over three days: this year, the first round took place on Thursday, April 28, 2011; the second and third rounds took place on Friday, April 29; with the final four rounds on Saturday, April 30, 2011.
The Carolina Panthers
2010 Carolina Panthers season
-Coaching staff:-Preseason:The Panthers preseason schedule was announced on March 31, 2010.-Regular season:-Week 1: at New York Giants:The Panthers began their season at New Meadowlands Stadium for an NFC duel with the New York Giants. In the first quarter, Carolina got the stadium's very first...
, who had the worst record for the 2010 NFL season at 2–14, had the right to the first selection in each round of the draft. With the first pick the Panthers selected Auburn University
2010 Auburn Tigers football team
The 2010 Auburn Tigers football team represented Auburn University in the 2010–2011 college football season. The Tigers, led by second year head coach Gene Chizik were members of the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference and played their home games at Jordan-Hare Stadium...
quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
Cam Newton
Cam Newton
Cameron Lemark Newton is a former American football safety. He played college football at Furman University, then played two seasons in the NFL, one each for the Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers. He was cut from the Panthers before the 2007 season...
, who was the 2010 Heisman Trophy winner.
A second Heisman Trophy winner, running back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
Mark Ingram
Mark Ingram, Jr.
Mark Ingram, Jr. is a running back for the New Orleans Saints. Ingram is the son of former NFL wide receiver Mark Ingram, Sr....
from Alabama
2010 Alabama Crimson Tide football team
The 2010 Alabama Crimson Tide football team represented the University of Alabama in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 118th overall season, 78th as a member of the Southeastern Conference and its 19th within the SEC Western Division...
was selected by New Orleans
2011 New Orleans Saints season
The 2011 New Orleans Saints season is the franchise's 45th season in the National Football League, the 36th to host home games at the Louisiana Superdome and the sixth under head coach Sean Payton.-2011 draft board:-Schedule:...
late in the first round. This was the eleventh draft which included multiple Heisman winners, and the first time ever that it has occurred in consecutive drafts (Sam Bradford
Sam Bradford
Samuel Jacob "Sam" Bradford is an American football quarterback for the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League. He was the first overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, and played college football at Oklahoma. In 2008, as a redshirt sophomore, Bradford became the second sophomore to win a...
and Tim Tebow
Tim Tebow
Timothy Richard "Tim" Tebow is an American football player who is currently the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League . He was drafted by the Broncos as the 25th overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft...
in 2010
2010 NFL Draft
The 2010 NFL Draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible football players. Unlike previous years, the 2010 draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, with the first round on Thursday, April 22, 2010, at 7:30 pm...
). Five of the first six picks played college football in the Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
(SEC).
Teams were allowed ten minutes to make each selection in the first round, seven minutes per selection in the second round and five minutes in each of the subsequent rounds.
Impact of labor situation
Despite an ongoing labor dispute between league owners and players over a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA), a provision in the expired CBA ensured that this draft would still take place, despite the fact that the owners had imposed a lockout to prevent the start of the league year. Fans in attendance at the draft expressed their displeasure with the lockout by booing NFL commissioner Roger GoodellRoger Goodell
Roger S. Goodell is the Commissioner of the National Football League , having been chosen to succeed the retiring Paul Tagliabue on August 8, 2006. He was chosen over four finalists for the position, winning a close vote on the fifth ballot before being unanimously approved by acclamation of the...
during the event and chanting "We want football."
Due to the labor situation and the lockout, franchises were not able to trade players for draft selections (trades involving only selections were permitted), and were unable to sign or even contact drafted or undrafted players until the lockout was lifted. Because of the lockout, the Panthers could not sign or even negotiate with their first draft pick before the draft began, as other teams have done in years past. The restriction on trading players extended to players selected in this draft—teams were unable to swap any player once selected, e.g. as happened in 2004
2004 NFL Draft
The 2004 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 24-25, 2004 at the theater at Madison Square Garden...
when the San Diego Chargers
2004 San Diego Chargers season
The 2004 San Diego Chargers season began with the team trying to improve on their 4–12 record in 2003. They finished the campaign 1st in their division and made the playoffs for the first time in nine years. In the playoffs they lost in overtime to the New York Jets...
and New York Giants
2004 New York Giants season
The 2004 NFL season was the 80th season for the New York Giants. After starting the season 5–2, the Giants finished 6–10, 2nd in the NFC East.-Offseason:...
completed a draft day trade involving Eli Manning
Eli Manning
Eli Nelson Manning is an American football quarterback for the New York Giants of the National Football League. He is the younger brother of NFL quarterback Peyton Manning and the son of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning...
and Philip Rivers
Philip Rivers
Philip Rivers is an American football quarterback for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League . He was one half of the Manning-Rivers draft trade which sent him to San Diego and the 1st overall pick, Ole Miss quarterback Eli Manning, to the New York Giants. Rivers played college...
who had been selected first and fourth respectively. In addition, with no agreement in place between owners and players mandating future drafts, teams were advised by the league that any trades involving future draft picks would be made at the teams' "own risk". This warning did not dissuade several teams from making trades involving future selections.
The National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) considered plans to dissuade potential prospects from attending the draft, but a record 25 potential draftees attended the event, including Von Miller, who was one of the named plaintiffs in the players' antitrust lawsuit against the league.
Early entrants
A record 56 underclassmen announced their intention to forgo their remaining NCAANational Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
eligibility and declare themselves eligible to be selected in the draft. To be eligible for the draft, a player must be out of high school for at least three years.
The selection of Newton, a junior, marked the third straight draft where the first overall selection was an underclassman. Since non-seniors were first eligible to be drafted in 1990
1990 NFL Draft
The 1990 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 22–23, 1990...
, fourteen first overall picks ( including six of the last seven) have been players who have entered the draft early. Eight of the first ten players chosen in this draft were non-seniors, which broke the record of six set in 1997
1997 NFL Draft
The 1997 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 19–20, 1997. No teams elected to claim any players in the supplemental draft that...
and matched in 2006
2006 NFL Draft
The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with additional coverage offered by ESPNU and, for the first time, by...
. Jake Locker
Jake Locker
Jacob Cooper "Jake" Locker is an American football quarterback selected by the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League in the 2011 Draft...
and Von Miller
Von Miller
Von Miller is an American football linebacker for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. He was drafted second overall by the Broncos in the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football at Texas A&M....
were the only two seniors among the first ten draftees.
Determination of draft order
The draft order is based generally on each team's regular season record, with the exception of the teams making the playoffs in , who are placed at the end of the draft order in the order in which they were eliminated.Player selections
|
The following is the breakdown of the 254 players selected by position
American football positions
In American football, each team has eleven players on the field at one time. Because the rules allow unlimited substitution between plays, the types of players on the field for each team differ depending on the situation...
:
|
Guard (American football) In American and Canadian football, a guard is a player that lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line of a football team.... Quarterback Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line... s |
Tight end The tight end is a position in American football on the offense. The tight end is often seen as a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like offensive linemen, they are usually lined up on the offensive line and are large enough to be... s Center (American football) Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense... Fullback (American football) A fullback is a position in the offensive backfield in American and Canadian football, and is one of the two running back positions along with the halfback... Placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points... |
Supplemental draft
A supplemental draft was held on August 22, 2011. For each player selected in the supplemental draft, the team forfeits its pick in that round in the draft of the following season. Six players were available in the supplemental draft, but only one was selected.Trades and notes
In the explanations below, (D) denotes trades that took place during the draft, while (PD) indicates trades completed pre-draft.Forfeited picks
Two picks in the 2011 draft were forfeited:Selections by college conference
The players selected in this draft played in the following Division I FBS college footballCollege football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
athletic conferences:
| Rank | Conference | # of players selected |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southeastern Conference Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama... |
38 |
| 2 | Atlantic Coast Conference Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities... |
35 |
| 3 | Pac-10 Conference | 31 |
| 4 | Big 12 Conference Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of ten schools located in the Central United States, with its headquarters located in Las Colinas, a community in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Irving... |
30 |
| 5 | Big Ten Conference Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east... |
29 |
| 6 | Big East Conference Big East Conference The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletics conference consisting of sixteen universities in the eastern half of the United States. The conference's 17 members participate in 24 NCAA sports... |
21 |
| 7 | Western Athletic Conference Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference is an American collegiate athletic conference, which was formed on July 27, 1962, making it the sixth oldest of the 11 college athletic conferences currently participating in the NCAA's Division I FBS... |
16 |
| 8 | Mountain West Conference Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference , popularly known as the Mountain West, is the youngest of the college athletic conferences affiliated with the NCAA’s Division I FBS . The MWC officially began operations in July 1999... |
10 |
| 9 | Sun Belt Conference Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference is a college athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Its football teams participate in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , the higher of two levels of Division I football competition . The Sun Belt has member institutions... |
5 |
| 10 | Conference USA Conference USA Conference USA, officially abbreviated C-USA, is a college athletic conference whose member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports... |
5 |
| 11 | Mid-American Conference Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members... |
3 |
| — | non-Div. I FBS (all others) | 25 |
See also
- List of first overall National Football League draft picks
- Mr. IrrelevantMr. Irrelevant"Mr. Irrelevant" is the title bestowed each year upon the last pick of the annual National Football League draft.- Irrelevant Week :The name arose in 1976, when former Southern California and NFL receiver Paul Salata founded "Irrelevant Week" in Newport Beach, California. He announced the final...
– last overall National Football League draft picks