2004 NFL Draft

In 2004, the thirty two teams of the NFL got together and held the sixty eighth yearly NFL Draft, where each of them chose college players to play for their team. It was held at Madison Square Garden in New York on April 24 and 25. The draft was shown on ESPN. There were 255 choices in the draft.

The draft started with the San Diego Chargers picking Eli Manning. He was traded to the New York Giants a short time later.  There were 32 picks given to 16 teams because they lost free agents that offseason. The teams with the most compensatory picks were the Philadelphia Eagles, St. Louis Rams, and New York Jets, each with four.NFL gives 32 compensatory draft choices . March 29, 2004. URL Accessed June 24, 2006. There were several records during the draft: the most wide receivers selected in the first round (7), and the most trades in the first round (28). The University of Miami had six players chosen in the first round. Ohio State set an NFL draft record having 14 players picked in all rounds. As of 2012, this draft also has another records: it is the first draft which has had two quarterbacks who each won more than one Super Bowl (with Ben Roethlisberger winning his second in 2008 and Eli Manning winning his second in 2011). The positions of the players in the draft were:

 48 defensive backs
 32 wide receivers
 28 linebackers
 26 offensive tackles
 24 defensive ends 23 defensive tackles
 17 quarterbacks
 16 tight ends
 14 running backs
 9 centers 8 guards
 4 fullbacks
 3 kickers
 3 punters

Player selections
 * = compensation pick † = Pro BowlerPlayers are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro Bowl at any time in their career.

References

Category:National Football League Draft
Category:2004 in sports
Category:21st century in Manhattan
Category:2004 in New York City