who was the first person ever drafted in the nfl
1936 NFL Draft This was the only draft to have nine rounds; the number increased to ten for the 1937 draft. The first player ever drafted, Jay Berwanger, who had previously been awarded the initial Heisman Trophy, never played in the NFL. His rights were traded by the Philadelphia Eagles to the Chicago Bears, as the Eagles felt they would be unable to meet Berwanger's reported demand of $1000 per game.[4] The Eagles received tackle Art Buss from the Bears in exchange for Berwanger's rights.[5] George Halas was unable to convince Berwanger to sign with the Bears. Riley Smith, the second pick, was the first player drafted to play in the NFL.
Aaron Rodgers Before the draft, Rodgers was confident that he would be drafted to the team he supported and grew up near,[42] the San Francisco 49ers, who possessed the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. The 49ers, however, drafted quarterback Alex Smith out of Utah instead, and Rodgers slid all the way down to the 24th overall pick by the Green Bay Packers. Rodgers has said that he experienced much angst and restlessness when waiting to be selected several hours into the draft, as he had expected himself to be selected much sooner.[42] Rodgers's slip to the 24th selection and the Packers choosing to pick Brett Favre's future replacement became one of the biggest stories of the draft, though he was still the second quarterback selected. His drop in the draft was later ranked number one on the NFL Network's Top 10 Draft Day Moments. Many teams drafting between the second and 23rd positions had positional needs more pressing than quarterback.[43][44]