The 1979 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 May 3–4, 1979. The league also held a supplemental draft after the regular draft and before the regular season.
The Buffalo Bills held the first overall pick in the draft, acquired from the San Francisco 49ers in the trade which sent O.J. Simpson to his hometown team. The Bills' selection at No. 1, Ohio State linebacker Tom Cousineau, refused to sign with the Bills and instead inked a lucrative deal with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League.
Cousineau returned to the United States in 1982 to play for the Cleveland Browns, his hometown franchise.
Read more about 1979 NFL Draft: Player Selections, Hall of Famers, Notable Undrafted Players
Famous quotes containing the word draft:
“Why not draft executive and management brains to prepare and produce the equipment the $21-a-month draftee must use and forget this dollar-a-year tommyrot? Would we send an army into the field under a dollar-a-year General who had to be home Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays?”
—Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)