The 1996 Entire NFL Draft Review

Defensive End - Regan Upshaw
Tampa Bay Buccaneers first overall pick.

The 1996 draft was held April 20–21, 1996, at the Paramount Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. No teams chose to claim any players in the supplemental draft that year.

This draft is considered one of the best draft classes ever for the position of wide receiver. Keyshawn Johnson, Terry Glenn, Eddie Kennison, Marvin Harrison, Eric Moulds, Bobby Engram, Terrell Owens, Muhsin Muhammad, Amani Toomer, Jermaine Lewis, and Joe Horn have all achieved success in the pros, with all except Kennison, Engram, and Toomer having reached the Pro Bowl at least once, and a total of 26 Pro Bowl appearances for the group. In addition to the class having had several successful receivers, none of the five wide receivers drafted in the first round have been busts, as all of them spent at least a reasonable amount of time as starters in the NFL. Combined, 1996 wide receivers (through the end of the 2006 season) have totalled 7,646 receptions for 105,866 yards, eclipsing any other class by more than 1,000 receptions and 10,000 yards.

As of 2016, it was the last draft without a quarterback selected in the first round. Previously, the 1988 draft had been the last with no quarterback selected in the first round.

It was also one of the best draft years for middle linebackers, with two potential hall of famers in Ray Lewis and Zach Thomas selected. Lewis won Super Bowl XXXV and was selected MVP of that game. Lewis also won Super Bowl XLVII in the final game of his career, and made 13 career Pro Bowls while Thomas has made 7. Other linebackers who made at least one Pro Bowl from this draft are Tedy Bruschi, Kevin Hardy, Simeon Rice, John Mobley, and Donnie Edwards. Randall Godfrey, Earl Holmes, and Carlos Emmons also had solid careers in the league.

On draft day, the St. Louis Rams traded running back Jerome Bettis and a third round draft pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for a second round pick for that year, as well as a fourth round pick the following year. The trade was made immediately after the Rams drafted Nebraska running back Lawrence Phillips. Bettis went on to have a successful career with the Steelers as well as being one of the team's most popular players, while the Rams wouldn't have another feature back until they traded for Marshall Faulk three years later due to Phillips' off-field problems.

The Buccaneers Throughout the rounds of this draft, selected alternately 12th, 11th, 10th, 9th, 8th and 13th. The additional 1st round pick came from the Indianapolis Colts in return for Quarterback Craig Erickson. The extra 4th round pick came from the New York Jets for Defensive tackle Marc Spindler and Wide reciever Charles Wilson. The Buccaneerss traded their original 2nd round pick to San Diego in return for a No.1 the following year, but gained a 2nd round pick from the Cleveland Browns in return for Tight end Harold Bishop.

On Thursday, May 30th, 1996, Tampa Bay was introduced to a newly drafted Fanatical Fan and one of the founding Directors of BuccaneersFan.com:

Daniel P. Rader

Click Any Year Here To Review The Entire NFL Draft & Notable Undrafted Players

Player Selections

Notable Undrafted Players

Hall of Famers

• Jonathan Ogden, offensive tackle from UCLA, taken 1st round 4th overall by the Baltimore Ravens.
  Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2013.

• Marvin Harrison, wide receiver from Syracuse, taken 1st round 19th overall by the Indianapolis Colts.
  Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2016.