79th annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible players From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting",[1] was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on May 8 through May 10, 2014.[2][3][4] The draft started on May 8, 2014, at 8pm EDT.[5] The draft was moved from its traditional time frame in late April due to a scheduling conflict at Radio City Music Hall.[6]
There was early discussion and rumors leading up to the draft on the future of staying at the current location in New York City, where it had been held since 1965. Given the increased interest the draft had garnered over the past decade,[7] there was belief that the event may have outgrown Radio City Music Hall, which had been the venue for the past eight drafts. The possibility of extending the draft to four days was also being discussed throughout the months leading up to the draft. The NFL decided in that summer that the 2015 NFL draft will take place at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, Illinois.
The 2014 draft made history when the St. Louis Rams selected Michael Sam in the seventh round. Sam, who became the first openly gay player to ever be drafted in the NFL, was selected 249th out of 256 picks in the draft. After this, Sam's jersey was the second best selling rookie jersey on the NFL's website.[10] Sam came out publicly in the months leading up to the draft, but he never actually made the final roster of an NFL team and was out of the league the same year.[11]
A record 98 underclassmen announced their intention to forgo their remaining NCAA eligibility and declare themselves available to be selected in the draft.[12] When including four players who received degrees but still had eligibility remaining, the number swells to 102.[13] Fourteen underclassmen—plus Teddy Bridgewater who graduated with eligibility remaining—were selected in the draft's first round,[14] including the first four and six of the first ten players selected.[15]
The following is the breakdown of the 256 players selected by position:
The draft order is based generally on each team's record from the previous season, with teams which qualified for the postseason selecting after those which failed to make the playoffs.[16] The Houston Texans with a 2–14 record in 2013 held the first selection of each round. The Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens finished 2013 with identical 8–8 records and strength of schedule ratings, hence a coin flip was used to determine the selection order — the Cowboys won the flip and thus selected ahead of the Ravens.[17]
No. 2: Washington → St. Louis (PD). Washington traded this selection along with its first and second round selections in 2012 (6th & 39th) and its first round selection in 2013 (22nd) to St. Louis in exchange for St. Louis' 2012 first round selection (2nd) which Washington used to select Robert Griffin III.[source 1][source 2]
No. 4: Cleveland → Buffalo (D). Cleveland traded this selection to Buffalo in exchange for Buffalo's 2014 first round selection (9th), and their first and fourth round selections in 2015 (19th & 115th).[source 3]
No. 8: Minnesota → Cleveland (D). Minnesota traded this selection to Cleveland in exchange for the 9th selection which Cleveland had previously acquired from Buffalo and a fifth round selection (145th).[source 4]
No. 20: Arizona → New Orleans (D). Arizona traded this selection to New Orleans in exchange for New Orleans' first and third round selections (27th & 91st).[source 5]
No. 22: Philadelphia → Cleveland (D). Philadelphia traded this selection to Cleveland in exchange for a first round selection (26th) which Cleveland had previously acquired from Indianapolis and a third rounder (83rd).[source 6]
No. 26: Indianapolis → Cleveland (PD). Indianapolis traded this selection to Cleveland in exchange for running back Trent Richardson in September 2013.[source 7]
No. 32: Seattle → Minnesota (D). Seattle traded this selection to Minnesota in exchange for Minnesota's second and fourth round selections (40th &108th).[source 8]
No. 34: Washington → Dallas (D). Washington traded this selection to Dallas in exchange for Dallas' second and third round selections (47th & 78th).[source 9]
No. 40: Seattle → Detroit (D). Seattle traded this selection along with their fifth round selection (146th) to Detroit in exchange for Detroit's second, fourth and seventh round selections (45th, 111th & 227th).[source 10]
No. 41: Buffalo → St. Louis (D). Buffalo traded this selection to St. Louis in exchange for St. Louis' second and fifth round selections (44th & 153rd).[source 10]
No. 42: Tennessee → Philadelphia (D). Tennessee traded this selection to Philadelphia in exchange for Philadelphia's second and fourth round selections (54th & 122nd).[source 10]
No. 50: Miami → San Diego (D). Miami traded this selection to San Diego in exchange for San Diego's second and fourth round selections (57th & 125th).[source 10]
No. 56: Kansas City → San Francisco (PD). Kansas City traded their 2013 second round pick (34th) along this selection to San Francisco in exchange for quarterback Alex Smith. This was a conditional pick which became a second rounder when Kansas City won a minimum of eight games during the 2013 season; it otherwise would have been a third rounder.[source 11][source 12]
No. 56: San Francisco → Denver (D). San Francisco traded this selection along with a seventh round pick (242nd) to Denver in exchange for Denver's second and fifth round selections (63rd & 171st) this year and a fourth round selection in 2015 (126th).[source 13]
No. 57: Miami → San Francisco (D). Miami traded this selection to San Francisco in exchange for second and fifth round selections (63rd & 171st) which San Francisco had acquired minutes earlier from Denver.[source 10]
No. 61: San Francisco → Jacksonville (D). San Francisco traded this selection to Jacksonville in exchange for Jacksonville's third and fifth round selections (70th & 150th).[source 10]
No. 67: Oakland → Miami (D). Oakland traded this selection to Miami in exchange for Miami's third and fourth round selections (81st & 116th).[source 10]
No. 77: Tennessee → San Francisco (PD). Tennessee traded this selection, along with its 2013 second and seventh round selections (40th & 216th) to San Francisco in exchange for San Francisco's 2013 second round selection (34th).[source 14]
No. 83: Philadelphia → Houston (D). Philadelphia traded this selection to Houston in exchange for Houston's fourth and fifth round selections (101st & 141st).[source 10]
No. 93: New England → Jacksonville (D). New England traded this selection to Jacksonville in exchange for one of Jacksonville's selections in each of the fourth and sixth rounds (105th & 179th).[source 10]
No. 94: San Francisco → Cleveland (D). San Francisco traded this selection to Cleveland in exchange for Cleveland's fourth and sixth round selections (106th & 180th).[source 10]
No. 96: Seattle → Minnesota (PD). Seattle traded this selection, along with their 2013 first and seventh round selections (25th & 214th) to Minnesota in exchange for wide receiver Percy Harvin.[source 16]
No. 104: Tampa Bay → New York Jets (PD). Tampa Bay traded this selection and its 2013 first round selection (13th) to the Jets in exchange for cornerback Darrelle Revis. The pick became this fourth rounder, rather than a third round selection, when Tampa released Revis prior to the start of the 2014 league year in March.[source 17][19]
No. 111: Seattle → Cincinnati (D). Seattle traded this selection to Cincinnati in exchange for Cincinnati's fourth and sixth round selections(123rd & 199th).[source 10]
No. 114: Baltimore → Jacksonville (PD). Baltimore traded this selection along with their fifth round selection (159th) to Jacksonville in exchange for offensive tackle Eugene Monroe.[source 18]
No. 127: Indianapolis → Cleveland (PD). Indianapolis traded this selection to Cleveland in exchange for Cleveland's fifth round selection in the 2013 draft (139th).[source 15]
No. 131: Denver → Chicago (D). Denver traded this selection along with their seventh round selection (246th) to Chicago in exchange for Chicago's fifth round selection in this draft (156th) and a fifth round selection in 2015 (143rd).[source 19]
No. 146: Oakland → Seattle (PD). Oakland traded this selection to Seattle in exchange for quarterback Matt Flynn.[source 20] The trade also conditionally included the Raiders' 2015 fifth round selection, however, that condition was voided when the Raiders waived Flynn in October 2013.[source 21]
No. 146: Detroit → Dallas (D). Detroit traded this selection to Dallas in exchange for Dallas' fifth and seventh round selections (158th & 229th).[source 10]
No. 148: Minnesota → Carolina (D). Minnesota traded this selection to Carolina in exchange for Carolina's fifth and seventh round selections (168th & 225th).[source 10]
No. 149: Buffalo → Tampa Bay (D). Buffalo traded this selection to Tampa in exchange for Tampa's seventh round selection (221st) in this draft and their fifth round selection in the 2015 draft (137th).[source 10]
No. 150: Detroit → Jacksonville (PD). Detroit traded this selection to Jacksonville during the 2012 season in exchange for wide receiver Mike Thomas.[source 22]
No. 168: Minnesota → Atlanta (D). Minnesota traded this selection to Atlanta in exchange for Atlanta's sixth and seventh round selections (182nd & 220th).[source 10]
No. 169: New England → Philadelphia (PD). New England traded this selection to Philadelphia in exchange for defensive tackle Isaac Sopoaga and Philadelphia's sixth round selection (198th).[source 23]
No. 169: Philadelphia → New Orleans (PD). Philadelphia then traded this selection to New Orleans in exchange for running back Darren Sproles.[source 24]
No. 178: Washington → Tennessee (D). Washington traded this selection to Tennessee in exchange for Tennessee's sixth and seventh round selections (186th & 228th).[source 10]
No. 193: Dallas → Kansas City (PD). Dallas traded this selection to Kansas City in exchange for linebacker Edgar Jones and Kansas City's seventh round selection (238th).[source 28]
No. 218: Cleveland → Baltimore (D). Cleveland traded this selection to Baltimore in exchange for Baltimore's sixth round selection in 2015 (201st).[source 10]
No. 224: Buffalo → Philadelphia (D). Philadelphia traded running back Bryce Brown along with Philadelphia's seventh round selection (237th) to Buffalo in exchange for this selection and a conditional future mid-round draft pick. That future pick would become Buffalo's third round selection in the 2016 draft if Brown hits particular (undisclosed) statistical rushing targets in 2014, otherwise it would become either San Francisco's fourth rounder in 2015 (if the Bills receive that pick as part of their trade of wide receiver Stevie Johnson to San Francisco, which would occur were Johnson to miss certain statistical thresholds in 2014) or Buffalo's fourth round selection in 2016.[source 30][source 31][source 32]
No. 235: Arizona → Oakland (PD). The Raiders received this selection and a sixth round selection in 2013 (176th) from Arizona in exchange for quarterback Carson Palmer and Oakland's seventh round selection in 2013 (219th). The inclusion of this selection was contingent on Palmer starting at least thirteen games for Arizona in the 2013 season; Palmer started all sixteen of Arizona's games.[source 36]
No. 243: Carolina → San Francisco (PD). Carolina traded this selection to San Francisco in exchange for Colin Jones shortly before the beginning of the 2012 season.[source 39]
No. 247: Seattle → Oakland (PD). Seattle traded this selection to Oakland in exchange for quarterback Terrelle Pryor.[source 40]
The supplemental draft was held on July 10, 2014. For each player selected in the supplemental draft, the team forfeits its pick in that round in the draft of the following season. Four players were eligible, but for the second straight year no players were selected.[21]
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) led all college athletic conferences in terms of first round selections with eleven, including the first two picks of the draft.[14] For the first time since the league's second draft in 1937, no player from the University of Texas was selected.[22]
For the second year in succession — and only the second time since 1967 — no running back was selected in the first round.[23] The first player taken at the position was Bishop Sankey who was selected in the second round with the 54th pick overall. This is the latest point in the history of the draft for the first running back to be selected.[24]
The draft was broadcast live by the NFL Network and ESPN. This marks the 35th year of draft coverage on ESPN while the NFL Network had covered the draft since its inception ten years ago.[25]
The two networks' combined first-round coverage drew a record 32 million viewers according to Nielsen ratings which was a 28 percent increase over the previous year. In total 45.7 million viewers watched some part of the three-day event, topping the previous record of 45.4 millions set in 2010.[26]
The events of the 2014 film Draft Day, take place during the fictionalized 2014 NFL draft.
The 2014 NFL draft was also featured in ‘’The League’’.
Manziel was the 2012 winner of the Heisman Trophy which is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football.[18]
Wagoner, Nick (January 11, 2014). "Rams-related playoff notes: Divisional round". St. Louis Rams blog. ESPN. Archived from the original on February 24, 2014. Retrieved February 15, 2014. Indianapolis cornerback Josh Gordy, whom the Rams receive a seventh-round draft choice for this year from a 2012 trade...