2016 AFL draft

2016 AFL draft
General information
Date	25 November 2016 28 November 2016
Time	7:00 pm AEDT (25 November) 4:00 pm AEDT (28 November)
Location	Hordern Pavilion, Sydney, New South Wales
Country	Australia
Sponsored by	National Australia Bank
Broadcast	Fox Footy
First selection	Andrew McGrath (Essendon)
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The 2016 AFL draft consisted of the various periods where the 18 clubs in the Australian Football League (AFL) could trade and recruit players following the completion of the 2016 AFL season. Additions to each club's playing list are not allowed at any other time during the year.

The key dates for the trading and drafting periods were:

The 2015 AFL draft included a new initiative whereby clubs could trade future picks; through this scheme, fourteen picks in the 2016 draft were traded prior to the commencement of the 2016 trade period:

The Brisbane Lions received a priority pick at the end of the first round (pick 19) after a request by the club to the AFL commission was accepted. It was the first time a priority pick was given to a club since the rules regarding priority selections were changed in 2012. This pick was later on-traded to Port Adelaide as part of the Pearce Hanley trade to Gold Coast, before the Sydney Swans ended up with it by the trade deadline.

A change was made to the rules concerning academy and father-son selections which allowed clubs to begin the draft with only as many draft picks as it had empty positions on its playing list. This was intended to end the practice which had taken place the previous year in which clubs with academies had traded down the draft order to accumulate a large number of mid- and low-range draft picks specifically to use on academy bids.

Clubs were able to promote any player who was listed on their rookie list in 2016 to their 2017 primary playing list prior to the draft.

Prior to the rookie draft, clubs could nominate category B rookies to join their club.

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