# List of North Carolina A&T Aggies in the NFL draft

This list of North Carolina A&T Aggies football players in the NFL draft includes alumni of North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University that have been drafted into the National Football League (NFL) since the league began holding drafts in 1936. Of the 33 Aggie players listed below, Bob "Stonewall" Jackson was the first player from an HBCU to be drafted by an NFL team. 3 Former A&T players have been selected to a Pro Bowl or league All-Star Game, 3 have won a championship with their respective teams and 1 has been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Each NFL franchise seeks to add new players through the annual NFL draft. The draft rules were last updated in 2009. The team with the worst record the previous year picks first, the next-worst team second, and so on. Teams that did not make the playoffs are ordered by their regular-season record with any remaining ties broken by strength of schedule. Playoff participants are sequenced after non-playoff teams, based on their round of elimination (wild card, division, conference, and Super Bowl). Prior to the merger agreements in 1966, the American Football League (AFL) operated in direct competition with the NFL and held a separate draft. This led to a bidding war over top prospects between the two leagues. As part of the merger agreement on June 8, 1966, the two leagues held a multiple-round "common draft". Once the AFL officially merged with the NFL in 1970, the common craft became the NFL draft.

## Key

| B | Back | K | Kicker | NT | Nose tackle |
| C | Center | LB | Linebacker | FB | Fullback |
| DB | Defensive back | P | Punter | HB | Halfback |
| DE | Defensive end | QB | Quarterback | WR | Wide receiver |
| DT | Defensive tackle | RB | Running back | G | Guard |
| E | End | T | Offensive tackle | TE | Tight end |
| $^*$ | Selected to an all-star game (AFL All-Star game, NFL All-Star game or Pro Bowl) | Selected to an all-star game (AFL All-Star game, NFL All-Star game or Pro Bowl) | Selected to an all-star game (AFL All-Star game, NFL All-Star game or Pro Bowl) | Selected to an all-star game (AFL All-Star game, NFL All-Star game or Pro Bowl) | Selected to an all-star game (AFL All-Star game, NFL All-Star game or Pro Bowl) |
| $^†$ | Won a league championship (AFL championship, NFL championship, or Super Bowl) | Won a league championship (AFL championship, NFL championship, or Super Bowl) | Won a league championship (AFL championship, NFL championship, or Super Bowl) | Won a league championship (AFL championship, NFL championship, or Super Bowl) | Won a league championship (AFL championship, NFL championship, or Super Bowl) |
| $^‡$ | Inducted into Pro Football Hall of Fame | Inducted into Pro Football Hall of Fame | Inducted into Pro Football Hall of Fame | Inducted into Pro Football Hall of Fame | Inducted into Pro Football Hall of Fame |

## Selections

| Draft Year | Round | Pick in round | Overall pick | Team drafted to | Player | Position | Notes |
| 1950 | 16 | 6 | 202 | New York Giants | Bob "Stonewall" Jackson | FB | First player from an HBCU to be drafted in the NFL Draft |
| 1955 | 15 | 10 | 179 | Chicago Bears | J.D. Smith | FB | |
| 1959 | 22 | 6 | 258 | San Francisco 49ers | Burnio McQueen | End | |
| 1960 | 20 | 1 | 229 | St. Louis Cardinals | Tom Day*† | DE | AFL All-Star Game (1965) AFL championship (1964, 1965); |
| 1961 (AFL) | 26 | 4 | 204 | Buffalo Bills | Lorenzo Stanford | T | |
| 1962 | 20 | 1 | 229 | New York Giants | Joe Taylor | CB | |
| 1963 | 18 | 5 | 243 | Baltimore Colts | Luther Woodruff | T | |
| 1964 (AFL) | 23 | 3 | 179 | New York Jets | Cornell Gordon† | DB | AFL championship (1968) Super Bowl Champion (III) |
| 1964 (NFL) | 16 | 1 | 211 | San Francisco 49ers | Cornell Gordon | DB | Cornell Gordon elected to sign with the New York Jets of the AFL who had their draft 2 Days Earlier on Saturday November 30. |
| 1965 (AFL) | 6 | 6 | 46 | San Diego Chargers | Will Beasley | FB | |
| 1966 (AFL) | 19 | - | 172 | Buffalo Bills | Mel Phillips | DB | Elected to sign with the San Francisco 49ers of the NFL who held their draft on the same night |
| 1966 (NFL) | 5 | 5 | 69 | San Francisco 49ers | Mel Phillips | DB | |
| 1968 | 5 | 5 | 69 | Houston Oilers | Elvin Bethea*‡ | DE | Pro Bowl (1969, 1971,) Pro Football Hall of Fame (2003) |
| 1968 | 16 | 9 | 411 | La Rams | Henry Hipps | LB | |
| 1969 | 5 | 11 | 115 | Miami Dolphins | Willie Pearson | DB | |
| 1971 | 5 | 8 | 112 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Melvin Holmes | OT | |
| 1972 | 8 | 26 | 208 | Dallas Cowboys | Ralph Coleman | LB | |
| 1972 | 11 | 26 | 286 | Dallas Cowboys | Lonnie Leonard | LB | |
| 1972 | 16 | 20 | 410 | Oakland Raiders | Willie Wright | TE | |
| 1973 | 11 | 15 | 275 | New York Giants | William Wideman | DT | |
| 1975 | 13 | 26 | 338 | Washington Redskins | Morris McKie | DB | |
| 1976 | 12 | 2 | 321 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | George Ragsdale | DB | |
| 1979 | 5 | 27 | 137 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Dwaine Board† | DE | Super Bowl Champion (XVI, XIX, XXIII, XXIX) |
| 1982 | 11 | 11 | 290 | St. Louis Cardinals | James Williams | DE | |
| 1982 | 9 | - | - | St. Louis Cardinals | Kevin Robinson | DE | Kevin Robinson was a supplemental draft pick. |
| 1984 | 12 | 14 | 322 | Minnesota Vikings | Mike Jones | RB | |
| 1985 | 11 | 3 | 283 | Minnesota Vikings | Tim Williams | DB | |
| 1992 | 5 | 3 | 115 | Cincinnati Bengals | Craig Thompson | TE | |
| 1992 | 5 | 19 | 131 | San Diego Chargers | Kevin Little | LB | |
| 1992 | 6 | 7 | 147 | San Diego Chargers | Reggie White | DT | |
| 1994 | 6 | 28 | 198 | Los Angeles Rams | Ronald Edwards | OT | |
| 1996 | 1 | 29 | 29 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Jamain Stephens | OT | |
| 1997 | 3 | 14 | 78 | San Diego Chargers | Mike Hamilton | LB | |
| 1997 | 7 | 14 | 215 | St. Louis Rams | Cedric White | DE | |
| 1997 | 7 | 17 | 218 | San Diego Chargers | Toran James | LB | |
| 2005 | 5 | 7 | 143 | Green Bay Packers | Junius Coston | G | |
| 2017 | 4 | 12 | 119 | Chicago Bears | Tarik Cohen | RB | Pro Bowl (2018) |
| 2018 | 3 | 1 | 65 | Oakland Raiders | Brandon Parker | OL | |
| 2019 | 7 | 11 | 225 | Buffalo Bills | Darryl Johnson Jr. | DE | |

## Footnotes

* ↑ Because of the NFL–AFL merger agreement, the history of the AFL is officially recognized by the NFL and therefore this list includes the AFL draft (1960–1966) and the common draft (1967–1969).