1976 Draft

By Patrick Mondout

The expansion teams received the first two picks in the '76 draft and a coin flip determined the order. The Buccaneers won the toss and elected to receive future Hall of Fame defensive end Lee Roy Selmon. The Seahawks lost and settled for Notre Dame bust Steve Niehaus who consistently underperformed until being shipped to the Vikings for 15 year veteran Carl Eller (who finished his Hall of Fame career with the '79 Seahawks) and an 8th round pick in 1980.

The Seahawks ended up with their own Hall of Famer when Houston 4th round pick Steve Largent proved to be too small and too slow for the Oilers after four preseason games and was dealt for an eighth round pick! The Oilers already had established wideouts in Billy "White Shoes" Johnson and Ken Burrough, but who were the other remarkable receivers who bumped Largent off the squad? Gary Garrison, who caught 1 pass in this, his last season in the NFL, and Eddie Foster and Warren Anderson who combined for 16 catches - in their short careers (all by Eddie Foster).

The other Hall enshrinee of the 1976 draft was Sun Devil's cornerback Mike Haynes, taken by the Pats with the number 5 pick overall.

Below is the first round of the 1976 NFL draft. We also have the entire 17 round draft.