1995 NFL draft

1995 NFL draft
1995 NFL draft logo
General information
Date(s)April 22–23, 1995
LocationParamount Theatre at MSG
in New York City, NY
Network(s)ESPN
Overview
249 total selections in 7 rounds
LeagueNFL
First selectionKi-Jana Carter, RB
Cincinnati Bengals
Mr. IrrelevantMichael Reed, CB
Carolina Panthers
Most selections (13)San Diego Chargers
Fewest selections (4)San Francisco 49ers
Hall of Famers
6
← 1994
1996 →

The 1995 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, 1995[1] at the Paramount Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.[2][3][4] The league also held a supplemental draft after the regular draft and before the regular season.

The draft was the first with the expansion Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars franchises, who each received two extra picks between the first and second rounds. The Panthers, having selected second in the 1995 NFL Expansion Draft, were awarded the first overall pick in the main draft and the Jaguars, who held the first pick in the expansion draft, selected second. However, the Panthers traded their number one pick to the Cincinnati Bengals for the Bengals' fifth overall pick and their fourth pick in the second round.[5] The Bengals used the selection on Ki-Jana Carter, who is the most recent running back taken first overall. The Panthers were also stripped of two supplemental picks for improperly recruiting Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator Dom Capers as their head coach.[6]

In the first round, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected future Hall of Fame players Warren Sapp and Derrick Brooks. This was the second of three times two Hall of Fame inductees were selected by the same team in the first round, along with the Chicago Bears in 1965 and the Baltimore Ravens in the following year's draft. Although Sapp was projected to be a top 10 pick, he slid to the 12th selection due to allegations of failed drug tests. He and Brooks would go on to lead the Tampa 2 defense that brought the Buccaneers to their first Super Bowl title in Super Bowl XXXVII.[7]

The draft was also the last to feature a team based in Los Angeles until 2016 due to the Los Angeles Raiders returning to Oakland later in the year.[N 1]

  1. ^ "Pro Football Draft History: 1995". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved September 26, 2008.
  2. ^ Smith, Timothy W. (April 21, 1995). "NOTEBOOK; The Bengals Are Willing to Trade Places". The New York Times. Retrieved March 29, 2011.
  3. ^ "NFL Draft Locations". FootballGeography.com. October 2, 2014. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
  4. ^ Salomone, Dan (October 2, 2014). "NFL Draft headed to Chicago in 2015". Giants.com. New York Giants. Archived from the original on September 30, 2015. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  5. ^ Smith, Timothy W. (April 23, 1995). "PRO FOOTBALL; Bengals Take Carter at No. 1; Sapp Slips to 12th". New York Times. Retrieved September 26, 2008.
  6. ^ "PRO FOOTBALL; N.F.L. Fines New Team And Strips It of Draft Picks". New York Times. January 4, 1995. Retrieved September 26, 2008.
  7. ^ "One Round, Two Hall of Famers". Archived from the original on March 2, 2014. Retrieved February 27, 2014.


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