The2010 NFL draft was the 75th annual meeting ofNational Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The 2010draft took place over three days, atRadio City Music Hall inNew York City, with the first round on April 22, 2010. The second and third rounds took place on April 23, while the final four rounds were held on April 24.[1][2] Television coverage was provided by bothNFL Network andESPN.
TheSt. Louis Rams, as the team with the worst record during the2009 season, selected quarterbackSam Bradford with the first pick. Three of the top four picks were members of theOklahoma Sooners football team, and five of the top six were from theBig 12 Conference. The prime time broadcast of the first round was watched by 7.29 million viewers making it the most viewed first round ever and making ESPN the second most watched network of the night.[3][4]
Of the 255 players drafted 216 (or 84%) were among the 327 players who participated in the 2010NFL Scouting Combine. This matches the average percentage of combine participants among draftees over the past ten years. An additional 39 players who did not attend the combine were selected.[5][6] As of 2025,Trent Williams,Jerry Hughes, andLinval Joseph are the only players still active from this draft.
There was wide speculation that the 2010 NFL draft would have a very large number of early entrants because of a possible rookie pay scale to be imposed starting with the2011 NFL draft.[7][8][9][10]Eligible underclassmen projected as top NFL prospects risked losing millions of contractually-guaranteed dollars if they did not declare for the draft the year before a newCBA could be reached. The early entry deadline was January 15. After the early entry deadline had passed, it was confirmed that the 2010 NFL draft would have fifty-three non-seniors, tying a draft record for the most non-seniors ever.[11]
The draft's first round, in which teams were allowed ten minutes to make each selection, consumed three hours and 28 minutes. The second round (with a maximum of seven minutes per selection) lasted two hours and 25 minutes. After the second round, teams were allotted five minutes per pick. The third round took one hour and 41 minutes. Rounds 4 through 7 each lasted less than two hours.[12] For the second time in draft history, the first two players selected were namedOffensive and Defensive Rookies of the Year, respectively.[13]
The following is the breakdown of the 255 players selected byposition:
At the 2009 annual owners meeting, NFL owners unanimously approved changes to the order for assigning draft picks, starting with the 2010 draft.[14]
The new format took into account the seeding ofplayoff teams. The two major changes from previous years were:
Teams that make the playoffs pick after teams that do not.
Teams that advance further in the playoffs pick later. In 2008, the Chargers, who went 8–8 in the regular season, defeated the 12–4Indianapolis Colts in anAFC wild card game. Nevertheless, the Chargers received the 16th pick while the Colts picked 27th, and the Patriots, who missed the playoffs, picked 23rd according to the rules then in effect, which prioritized regular season record for all teams except those in the Super Bowl.
The new order assigns picks for each round as indicated in the table below. Except the changes noted above, the order will generally follow that used in previous years (i.e., within a given status, teams with worse regular-season records will pick earlier in the first round, and picks will cycle from round to round among teams that are tied).
Three coin tosses were necessary to establish the final selection order: Jacksonville, Tennessee, and Atlanta won their flips over Denver, Carolina, and Houston, respectively.[15]
Notable defensive tackles taken early in the draft include (from top to bottom)Ndamukong Suh (2nd overall by Detroit) andGerald McCoy (3rd overall by Tampa Bay). Defensive ends wereBrandon Graham (13th overall by Philadelphia), andJason Pierre-Paul (15th overall by NY Giants). They have combined for 15 Pro Bowl appearances, 10 All-Pro selections, and 5 Super Bowl wins.
Notable first round cornerbacks and safeties include (from top to bottom)Eric Berry (5th overall by Kansas City),Joe Haden (7th overall by Cleveland),Earl Thomas (14th overall by Seattle) andDevin McCourty (27th overall by New England).
Notable tight ends taken in the draft includeRob Gronkowski (2nd round selection by New England, top) andJimmy Graham (3rd round selection by New Orleans, bottom)
Notable receivers taken include (from top to bottom)Demaryius Thomas (22nd overall by Denver),Dez Bryant (24th overall by Dallas),Emmanuel Sanders (3rd round selection by Pittsburgh) andAntonio Brown (6th round selection by Pittsburgh).
#11: Chicago → Denver (PD). Chicago traded this selection, a 2009 first-round selection (18th overall; Denver selectedRobert Ayers) and a 2009 third-round selection (84th overall;traded to Pittsburgh, who selectedMike Wallace), and quarterbackKyle Orton to Denver for quarterbackJay Cutler and a 2009 fifth-round selection (140th overall, Chicago selectedJohnny Knox).[source 1]
^#14: Denver → Seattle (PD). Denver traded this selection to Seattle for a 2009 second-round selection (37th overall; Denver selectedAlphonso Smith).[source 5]
^#17: Carolina → San Francisco (PD). Carolina traded this selection to San Francisco for 2009 second- (43rd overall; Carolina selectedEverette Brown) and fourth round selections (111th overall; Carolina selectedMike Goodson).[source 6]
#24: New England → Dallas (D). New England traded this selection itacquired from Denver and its fourth round selection (119th overall;traded to Miami who selectedA. J. Edds) to Dallas for a first round selection (27th overall; New England selectedDevin McCourty) and a third round selection (90th overall; New England selectedTaylor Price).[source 8]
^#30: Minnesota → Detroit (D). Minnesota traded this selection and a fourth-round selection (128th overall; Detroit selectedJason Curtis Fox) to Detroit for a second-round selection (34th overall; Minnesota selectedChris Cook), a fourth-round selection (100th overall; Minnesota selectedEverson Griffen), and a seventh-round selection itacquired from Cleveland (214th overall; Minnesota selectedMickey Shuler Jr.).[source 10]
#44: Jacksonville → New England (PD). Jacksonville traded this selection and a 2009 seventh-round selection (232nd overall; New England selectedJulian Edelman) to New England for a 2009 third-round selection (73rd overall; Jacksonville selectedDerek Cox).[source 17]
#47: Tennessee → New England (PD). Tennessee traded this selection to New England for a 2009 third-round selection (89th overall; Tennessee selectedJared Cook).[source 18]
^#55: Philadelphia → Dallas (D). Philadelphia traded this selection to Dallas for a second-round selection (59th overall;traded to Cleveland, who selectedMontario Hardesty) and fourth-round selection (125th overall; Philadelphia selectedClay Harbor).[source 22]
#58: New England → Houston (D). New England traded this selection itacquired from Arizona to Houston for a second-round selection (62nd overall; New England selectedBrandon Spikes) and a fifth-round selection (150th overall; New England selectedZoltan Mesko).[source 23]
#70: Seattle → Philadelphia (PD). Seattle traded this selection and a 2009 fifth- (137th overall; after other trades, Baltimore selectedJason Phillips) and seventh-round selections (213th overall; Philadelphia selectedPaul Fanaika) to Philadelphia for a 2009 third-round selection (91st overall; Seattle selectedDeon Butler)[source 25]
#71: Philadelphia → Green Bay (D). Philadelphia traded this selection itacquired from Cleveland to Green Bay for a third-round selection (86th overall; Philadelphia selectedDaniel Te'o-Nesheim) and a fourth-round selection (122nd overall; Philadelphia selectedMike Kafka).[source 26]
#85: New England → Oakland (PD). New England traded this selection and a fifth-round selection (158th overall; after all trades, New Orleans selectedMatt Tennant) to Oakland for defensive endDerrick Burgess. (Had the Patriots not acquired a fifth-round selection before the draft, they would have owed Oakland their fourth-round selection.):[source 28]
^#88: Baltimore → Arizona (PD). Baltimore traded this selection and a fourth-round selection (123rd overall;traded to New Orleans, who selectedAl Woods) to Arizona for wide receiverAnquan Boldin and a fifth-round selection (157th overall; Baltimore selectedArthur Jones).[source 30]
^#92: New York Jets → Cleveland (PD). The New York Jets traded this selection, a fifth-round selection (160th overall; Cleveland selectedLarry Asante), linebackerJason Trusnik, and wide receiverChansi Stuckey to Cleveland for wide receiverBraylon Edwards.[source 32]
^#112: Carolina → New York Jets (D). Carolina traded this selection to the New York Jets for a fourth-round selection itacquired from Arizona (124th overall; Carolina selectedEric Norwood) and a sixth-round selection (198th overall; Carolina selectedDavid Gettis).[source 37]
#123: Arizona → New Orleans (D). Arizona traded this selection itacquired from Baltimore to New Orleans for a fourth-round selection (130th overall; Arizona selectedO'Brien Schofield) and a sixth-round selection (201st overall; Arizona selectedJorrick Calvin).[source 39]
#127: New York Jets → Philadelphia (PD). The New York Jets traded this selection and a 2009 fifth-round selection (153rd overall; Philadelphia selectedCornelius Ingram) to Philadelphia for cornerbackLito Sheppard and a 2010 fifth-round selection (155th overall; after all trades, Arizona selectedJohn Skelton). This fourth-round selection was conditional and could have been as high as a second-round selection; however, Sheppard was released by the Jets on March 4, 2010 to make the selection in the fourth-round, and as such the Eagles also sent the fifth-round selection to the Jets.[source 41][source 42]
^#133: Detroit → Seattle (PD). Detroit traded this selection and defensive endRobert Henderson to Seattle for guardRob Sims and a seventh-round selection (213th overall; Detroit selectedWillie Young).[source 44]
#134: Tampa Bay → Cleveland (PD). Tampa Bay traded this selection and a 2009 second-round selection (50th overall; Cleveland selectedMohamed Massaquoi) to Cleveland for tight endKellen Winslow II.[source 45]
#135: St. Louis → Atlanta (D). St. Louis traded this selection itacquired from Washington to Atlanta for a fifth-round selection (149th overall; St. Louis draftedHall Davis) and a sixth-round selection (189th overall; St. Louis selectedEugene Sims).[source 47]
^#139: Seattle → New York Jets (D). Seattle traded this selection to the New York Jets for running backLeon Washington and a seventh-round selection (236th overall; Seattle selectedDexter Davis).[source 49]
^#142: Miami → Kansas City (PD). Miami traded this selection to Kansas City for quarterbackTyler Thigpen.[source 50]
#146: Denver → Detroit (PD). Denver traded this selection and a 2009 seventh-round selection (235th overall; Detroit selectedZack Follett) to Detroit for a 2009 sixth-round selection (174th overall; Denver selectedTom Brandstater).[source 53]
#163: New Orleans → Philadelphia (PD). New Orleans traded this selection and a 2009 seventh-round selection (222nd overall, latertraded to Indianapolis, who selectedPat McAfee) to Philadelphia for a 2009 fifth-round selection (164th overall; New Orleans selectedThomas Morstead).[source 63]
#174: Washington → Miami (PD). Washington traded this selection and a 2009 second-round selection (44th overall; Miami selectedPat White) to Miami for defensive endJason Taylor.[source 68]
^#192: Philadelphia → Buffalo (PD). Philadelphia traded this selection, a 2009 first-round selection itacquired from Carolina (28th overall; Buffalo selectedEric Wood), and a 2009 fourth-round selection (121st overall; Buffalo selectedShawn Nelson) to Buffalo forJason Peters.[source 71]
^#200: Indianapolis → Philadelphia (PD). Indianapolis traded this selection to Philadelphia for a 2009 seventh-round selection (222nd overall; Indianapolis selectedPat McAfee).[source 73]
^#212: Kansas City → Miami (PD). Kansas City traded this selection to Miami for a 2009 seventh-round selection (237th overall; Kansas City selectedJake O'Connell).[source 76]
#230: Green Bay → New York Jets (PD). Green Bay traded this selection and quarterbackBrett Favre to the New York Jets for a 2009 third-round selection (73rd overall; after all trades Jacksonville selectedDerek Cox).[source 82]
#230: New York Jets → Green Bay (PD). The New York Jets returned this selection itacquired from Green Bay back to Green Bay in a mutual agreement.[source 83]
#231: Philadelphia → New England (PD). Philadelphia traded this selection and wide receiverGreg Lewis to New England for a 2009 fifth-round selection (159th overall; Philadelphia selectedFenuki Tupou).[source 84]
#232: Baltimore → Tampa Bay (PD). Baltimore traded this selection and a 2009 seventh-round selection (233rd overall; Tampa Bay selectedSammie Stroughter) to Tampa Bay for defensive linemanMarques Douglas.[source 86]