# 1984 NFL supplemental draft of USFL and CFL players

The 1984 NFL supplemental draft of USFL and CFL players was a one-time draft of United States Football League (USFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL) players held on June 5, 1984.
While there were a few Hall of Famers and Pro Bowl players in this draft, the quality was generally lower than in the normal annual draft. There were six first round draft picks from this draft (Wayne Peace, Paul Bergmann, Ken Hobart, Allanda Smith, Duanne Gunn and Danny Knight) who never played a game in the NFL, meanwhile no normal draft first rounder has failed to play since Jim Detwiler in 1967.

## Background

On June 5, 1984, the National Football League held a draft for college seniors who had already signed with either the USFL or the CFL in an attempt to head off a bidding war in its own ranks for USFL and CFL players. The 28 NFL teams chose 84 players from 224 available during the three-round selection meeting. The draft was for players who would have been eligible for the regular 1984 NFL draft in early May, but had already signed a contract with a USFL or CFL team.
The draft was implemented primarily with the fledgling USFL in mind. The owners did not want to risk potentially "wasting" picks in the regular draft on players who were already signed by another league, but also wanted to ensure there would not be a large influx of free agent talent in case the new league suddenly collapsed. The CFL, being a much more established circuit with strict limits on the number of American players on each team, was not as much of a concern, but was included to shield the NFL from potential antitrust litigation that might have arisen had the league targeted a specific rival with a supplemental draft. Of the 84 players selected, only eight were from the CFL, with 76 from the USFL.
While the Los Angeles Express were a modest 8-7 at the time of the draft, their roster was laden with talent. Future Hall of Famers Steve Young and Gary Zimmerman headlined a group of twenty Express players selected in the draft, including four of the first six selections and eleven in the opening round. (The eventual '84 USFL champs from Philadelphia were second with nine picks; no CFL team had more than two.)
Only one trade involving supplemental draft picks was consummated, as the Cleveland Browns acquired all three of the Chicago Bears' supplemental picks in exchange for the Browns' selections in the final four rounds of the regular 1984 draft. As a result, Cleveland made six selections in this draft (including Pro Bowlers Kevin Mack and Gerald McNeil, both with picks that originally belonged to Chicago) while the Bears made none. The other 26 teams made three selections each.
| = Pro Bowler | = Hall of Famer |

## Player selections
### First round

| Pick # | NFL team | Player | Position | Pro Team | College |
| 1 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Steve Young | QB | Los Angeles Express | BYU |
| 2 | Houston Oilers | Mike Rozier | RB | Pittsburgh Maulers | Nebraska |
| 3 | New York Giants | Gary Zimmerman | G | Los Angeles Express | Oregon |
| 4 | Philadelphia Eagles | Reggie White | DE | Memphis Showboats | Tennessee |
| 5 | Kansas City Chiefs | Mark Adickes | OT | Los Angeles Express | Baylor |
| 6 | San Diego Chargers | Lee Williams | DE | Los Angeles Express | Bethune-Cookman |
| 7 | Cincinnati Bengals | Wayne Peace | QB | Tampa Bay Bandits | Florida |
| 8 | Indianapolis Colts | Paul Bergmann | TE | Jacksonville Bulls | UCLA |
| 9 | Atlanta Falcons | Joey Jones | WR | Birmingham Stallions | Alabama |
| 10 | New York Jets | Ken Hobart | QB | Denver Gold | Idaho |
| 11 | Cleveland Browns | Kevin Mack | FB | Los Angeles Express | Clemson |
| 12 | Green Bay Packers | Buford Jordan | RB | New Orleans Breakers | McNeese State |
| 13 | Minnesota Vikings | Allanda Smith | CB | Los Angeles Express | TCU |
| 14 | Buffalo Bills | Dwight Drane | S | Los Angeles Express | Oklahoma |
| 15 | New Orleans Saints | Vaughan Johnson | LB | Jacksonville Bulls | North Carolina State |
| 16 | New England Patriots | Ricky Sanders | WR | Houston Gamblers | Southwest Texas State |
| 17 | St. Louis Cardinals | Mike Ruether | C | Los Angeles Express | Texas |
| 18 | Cleveland Browns | Mike Johnson | LB | Philadelphia Stars | Virginia Tech |
| 19 | Denver Broncos | Freddie Gilbert | DE | New Jersey Generals | Georgia |
| 20 | Detroit Lions | Alphonso Williams | WR | Oklahoma Outlaws | Nevada |
| 21 | Los Angeles Rams | William Fuller | DE | Philadelphia Stars | North Carolina |
| 22 | Seattle Seahawks | Gordon Hudson | TE | Los Angeles Express | BYU |
| 23 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Duane Gunn | WR | Los Angeles Express | Indiana |
| 24 | San Francisco 49ers | Derrick Crawford | WR | Memphis Showboats | Memphis |
| 25 | Dallas Cowboys | Todd Fowler | TE-RB | Houston Gamblers | Stephen F. Austin |
| 26 | Miami Dolphins | Danny Knight | WR | New Jersey Generals | Mississippi State |
| 27 | Washington Redskins | Tony Zendejas | K | Los Angeles Express | Nevada |
| 28 | Los Angeles Raiders | Christopher Woods | WR | Edmonton Eskimos (CFL) | Auburn |

### Second round

| Pick # | NFL team | Player | Position | Pro Team | College |
| 29 | Houston Oilers | Don Maggs | OT | Pittsburgh Maulers | Tulane |
| 30 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Kevin Nelson | RB | Los Angeles Express | UCLA |
| 31 | New York Giants | James Robinson | DT | Los Angeles Express | Clemson |
| 32 | Philadelphia Eagles | Daryl Goodlow | LB | Oklahoma Outlaws | Arizona |
| 33 | Kansas City Chiefs | Lupe Sanchez | CB | Arizona Wranglers | UCLA |
| 34 | San Diego Chargers | Steve Smith | QB | Montreal Concordes (CFL) | Michigan |
| 35 | Cincinnati Bengals | Bill Johnson | RB | Denver Gold | Arkansas State |
| 36 | Indianapolis Colts | Albert Bentley | RB | Michigan Panthers | Miami (FL) |
| 37 | Atlanta Falcons | Michael McInnis | DT | Philadelphia Stars | Arkansas-Pine Bluff |
| 38 | New York Jets | Jim Sandusky | WR | British Columbia Lions (CFL) | San Diego State |
| 39 | Green Bay Packers | Chuck Clanton | DB | Birmingham Stallions | Auburn |
| 40 | Minnesota Vikings | Robert B. Smith | DE | Arizona Wranglers | Grambling |
| 41 | Buffalo Bills | Daryl Hart | DB | Oakland Invaders | Lane |
| 42 | New Orleans Saints | Mel Gray | RB | Los Angeles Express | Purdue |
| 43 | New England Patriots | Eric Jordan | RB | Oakland Invaders | Purdue |
| 44 | Cleveland Browns$^{(fromChicagoBears)}$ | Gerald McNeil | WR | Houston Gamblers | Baylor |
| 45 | St. Louis Cardinals | Derek Kennard | G | Los Angeles Express | Nevada |
| 46 | Denver Broncos | Rick Massie | WR | Calgary Stampeders (CFL) | Kentucky |
| 47 | Detroit Lions | George Jamison | LB | Philadelphia Stars | Cincinnati |
| 48 | Los Angeles Rams | Rick Johnson | QB | Oklahoma Outlaws | Southern Illinois |
| 49 | Seattle Seahwks | Alvin Powell | G | Oklahoma Outlaws | Winston-Salem State |
| 50 | Cleveland Browns | Tommy Robison | OT | Houston Gamblers | Texas A&M |
| 51 | San Francisco 49ers | Joe Conwell | OT | Philadelphia Stars | North Carolina |
| 52 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Tom Dixon | C | Michigan Panthers | Michigan |
| 53 | Miami Dolphins | Dewey Forte | DE | Los Angeles Express | Bethune-Cookman |
| 54 | Dallas Cowboys | Malcolm Moore | WR | Los Angeles Express | USC |
| 55 | Washington Redskins | Gary Clark | WR | Jacksonville Bulls | James Madison |
| 56 | Los Angeles Raiders | Stewart Hill | LB | Edmonton Eskimos (CFL) | Washington |

### Third round

| Pick # | NFL team | Player | Position | Pro Team | College |
| 57 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Alex Clark | DB | New Orleans Breakers | LSU |
| 58 | Houston Oilers | Lynn Madsen | DT | New Jersey Generals | Washington |
| 59 | New York Giants | Kirby Warren | RB | Los Angeles Express | Pacific |
| 60 | Philadelphia Eagles | Thomas Carter | LB | Oakland Invaders | San Diego State |
| 61 | Kansas City Chiefs | Garcia Lane | CB | Philadelphia Stars | Ohio State |
| 62 | San Diego Chargers | Clarence Collins | WR | New Jersey Generals | Illinois State |
| 63 | Atlanta Falcons | Dennis Woodberry | DB | Birmingham Stallions | Southern Arkansas |
| 64 | New York Jets | Turner Gill | QB | Montreal Concordes (CFL) | Nebraska |
| 65 | Cincinnati Bengals | Tom Kilkenny | LB | Chicago Blitz | Temple |
| 66 | Indianapolis Colts | Byron Smith | DT | Saskatchewan Roughriders (CFL) | California |
| 67 | Minnesota Vikings | David Howard | LB | Los Angeles Express | Long Beach State |
| 68 | Buffalo Bills | Don Corbin | OT | Pittsburgh Maulers | Kentucky |
| 69 | New Orleans Saints | Steve Dearden | LB | Memphis Showboats | Vanderbilt |
| 70 | New England Patriots | Walter Lewis | QB | Memphis Showboats | Alabama |
| 71 | Cleveland Browns $^{(fromChicagoBears)}$ | Doug West | LB | Jacksonville Bulls | UCLA |
| 72 | Green Bay Packers | John Sullivan | DB | Oakland Invaders | California |
| 73 | St. Louis Cardinals | Tim Riordan | QB | Philadelphia Stars | Temple |
| 74 | Detroit Lions | Doug Hollie | DE | Pittsburgh Maulers | SMU |
| 75 | Los Angeles Rams | Jim Byrne | NT | Philadelphia Stars | Wisconsin-LaCrosse |
| 76 | Seattle Seahawks | Frank Seurer | QB | Los Angeles Express | Kansas |
| 77 | Cleveland Browns | John Bond | QB | Saskatchewan Roughriders (CFL) | Mississippi State |
| 78 | Denver Broncos | Reggie Smith | OT | Tampa Bay Bandits | Kansas |
| 79 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Phil Boren | OT | Birmingham Stallions | Arkansas |
| 80 | San Francisco 49ers | Mark Schellen | RB | New Orleans Breakers | Nebraska |
| 81 | Dallas Cowboys | Jeff Spek | TE | New Jersey Generals | San Diego State |
| 82 | Miami Dolphins | Duan Hanks | WR | Philadelphia Stars | Stephen F. Austin |
| 83 | Washington Redskins | Clarence Verdin | WR | Houston Gamblers | Southwestern Louisiana |
| 84 | Los Angeles Raiders | James Farr | G | Washington Federals | Clemson |

## Selections by teams

| Rank | Team | Players selected | League |
| 1 | Los Angeles Express | 20 | USFL |
| 2 | Philadelphia Stars | 9 | USFL |
| 3 | Houston Gamblers | 5 | USFL |
| 3 | New Jersey Generals | 5 | USFL |
| 5 | Birmingham Stallions | 4 | USFL |
| 5 | Jacksonville Bulls | 4 | USFL |
| 5 | Memphis Showboats | 4 | USFL |
| 5 | Oakland Invaders | 4 | USFL |
| 5 | Oklahoma Outlaws | 4 | USFL |
| 5 | Pittsburgh Maulers | 4 | USFL |
| 11 | New Orleans Breakers | 3 | USFL |
| 12 | Arizona Wranglers | 2 | USFL |
| 12 | Denver Gold | 2 | USFL |
| 12 | Edmonton Eskimos | 2 | CFL |
| 12 | Michigan Panthers | 2 | USFL |
| 12 | Montreal Concordes | 2 | CFL |
| 12 | Saskatchewan Roughriders | 2 | CFL |
| 12 | Tampa Bay Bandits | 2 | USFL |
| 19 | British Columbia Lions | 1 | CFL |
| 19 | Calgary Stampeders | 1 | CFL |
| 19 | Chicago Blitz | 1 | USFL |
| 19 | Washington Federals | 1 | USFL |
| 23 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 0 | CFL |
| 23 | Ottawa Rough Riders | 0 | CFL |
| 23 | San Antonio Gunslingers | 0 | USFL |
| 23 | Toronto Argonauts | 0 | CFL |
| 23 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 0 | CFL |

## Hall of Famers

* Steve Young, quarterback from the USFL, taken first overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
    Pro Football Hall of Fame, Class of 2005
* Gary Zimmerman, offensive tackle from the USFL, taken third overall by the New York Giants.
    Pro Football Hall of Fame, Class of 2008
* Reggie White, defensive end from the USFL, taken fourth overall by the Philadelphia Eagles.
    Pro Football Hall of Fame, Class of 2006