General Information | |
---|---|
Date(s) | April 26–27, 1983 |
Location |
New York Sheraton Hotel in New York City, NY |
TV coverage (US) | ESPN |
Overview | |
335 total selections in 12 rounds | |
First selection |
John Elway, QB Baltimore Colts |
Mr. Irrelevant |
John Tuggle, RB New York Giants |
Most selections (19) | New England Patriots |
Fewest selections (5) | New Orleans Saints |
Hall of Famers | 7 |
The 1983 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 26–27, 1983, at the New York Sheraton Hotel in New York City, New York. No teams elected to claim any players in the supplemental draft that year.
This year's draft is frequently referred to as the draft with the quarterback class of 1983, because six quarterbacks were taken in the first round, an unusually high number. Of these quarterbacks, four played in the Super Bowl, four were selected to play in the Pro Bowl, and three have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The next highest number of quarterbacks taken in the first round is the five taken in the 1999 NFL draft. All six quarterbacks were drafted by American Football Conference (AFC) teams, with every member of the five-team AFC East (the Colts, Dolphins, Bills, Jets and Patriots) selecting a quarterback. In eleven of the sixteen years following this draft, the AFC was represented in the Super Bowl by a team led by one of these quarterbacks: the Denver Broncos by John Elway (five times), the Buffalo Bills by Jim Kelly (four times), the Miami Dolphins by Dan Marino (once), or the New England Patriots by Tony Eason (once).