Heisman Trophy Winners in the NFL Draft

The dawn of the NFL Draft in 1935 coincided with a historic moment in the world of sports when Chicago University’s star player, Jay Berwanger, clinched the inaugural Heisman Trophy. This extraordinary feat propelled him to become the first ever player selected in the NFL Draft. Since Berwanger’s time, the Heisman Winners have had diverse fortunes when it comes to the draft, with some basking in the early draft limelight while others have struggled to find favor with NFL teams. One thing is certain, though – the nostalgia of the early days of the draft, along with the prestige of the Heisman Trophy, continues to fuel the passion and excitement of sports aficionados across generations.

Listed below, you’ll find a full list of Heisman Trophy winners and the year and the team that selected them

Heisman Winner – School	Heisman Year	Drafted By	Draft Year/Round	Overall Selection	Summary
Jay Berwanger – Chicago	1935	Philadelphia Eagles	1936/Rd 1	#1	The Philadelphia Eagles traded his rights to the Chicago Bears, but he never played pro ball.
Larry Kelley – Yale	1936	Detroit Lions	1937/Rd 9	#87	Played for AFL’s Boston Shamrocks
Clint Frank – Yale	1937	Detroit Lions	1938/Rd 12	#106	Frank pursued a military career after college.
Davey O’Brien – TCU	1938	Philadelphia Eagles	1939/Rd	#4	Led NFL in passing yards rookie year, but retired after two seasons
Nile Kinnick – Iowa	1939	Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL)	1940/Rd 2	#14	Pursued law school instead of pro ball and was later killed in World War II
Tom Harmon – Michigan	1940	Chicago Bears	1941/Rd 1	#1	Rejected Bears to play for AFL’s NY Americans.
Bruce Smith – Minnesota	1941	Green Bay Packers	1942/Rd 13	#119	Served in WW II & later played for Packers & Rams
Frank Sinkwich – Georgia	1942	Detroit Lions	1943/Rd 1	#1	Joined the Marines after college, but later won NFL MVP honors with Lions in 1944.
Angelo Bertelli – Notre Dame	1943	Boston Yanks	1944/Rd 1	#1	After service with Marines in WW II, Bertelli played fin the All-American Football Conference
Les Horvath – Ohio State	1944	Cleveland Rams	1943/Rd 6	N/A	Horvath went to dental school in 1945 and later joined the military.  Eventually he played for the Rams & Browns.
Doc Blanchard – Army	1945	Pittsburgh Steelers	1946/Rd 1	#3	Never played pro ball but served as a fighter pilot for the Air Force & flew 113 missions in Vietnam.

Heisman Winner – School	Heisman Year	Drafted By	Draft Year/Round	Overall Selection	Summary
Glenn Davis – Army	1946	Detroit Lions	1947/Rd 1	#2	Served in the military for three years before joining the Los Angeles Rams and played until 1952.
Johnny Lujack – Notre Dame	1947	Chicago Bears	1949/Rd 1	#3	Played another season at Notre Dame after being drafted, but joined Chicago in 1948.
Doak Walker – SMU	1948	Boston Yanks	1949/Rd 1	#3	Played for Detroit Lions & was All-Pro 4 times before being enshrined in Pro Football HOF.
Leon Hart – Notre Dame	1949	Detroit Lions	1950/Rd 1	#1	Played 7 seasons in Detroit & 1 Pro Bowl season.
Vic Janowicz – Ohio State	1950	Washington Redskins	1952/Rd 7	#79	Janowicz initially played pro baseball before playing two seasons for the Washington Redskins.
Dick Kazmaier – Princeton	1951	Chicago Bears	1952/Rd 15	#176	Rejected Bears to attend Harvard Business School.
Billy Vessels – Oklahoma	1952	Baltimore Colts	1953/Rd 1	#2	Decided to play in Canada & was leagues Most Outstanding player in ’53.  Played for Colts in ’56.
Johnny Lattner – Notre Dame	1953	Pittsburgh Steelers	1954/Rd 1	#7	Played for Steelers one season before joining Air Force.
Alan Ameche – Wisconsin	1954	Baltimore Colts	1955/Rd 1	#3	1955 NFL Rookie of the Year & 4x Pro Bowl in 6 years
Howard Cassady – Ohio State	1955	Detroit Lions	1956/Rd 1	#3	Cassady played nine NFL seasons with the Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns and the Philadelphia Eagles.
Paul Hornung – Notre Dame	1956	Green Bay Packers	1957/Rd 1	#1	Won 4 NFL championships with the Green Bay Packers and led the league scoring 3 times. Hornung was the 1961 NFL MVP & is a member of the Pro Football HOF.
John David Crow – Texas A&M	1957	Chicago Cardinals	1958/Rd 1	#2	Played 11 NFL seasons for & 4 Pro Bowls.
Pete Dawkins – Army	1958	Not Drafted	N/A	N/A	This Rhodes Scholar pursued a military career and became an Army Brigadier General.
Billy Cannon – LSU	1959	Los Angeles Rams Houston Oilers (AFL)	1960/Rd 1 1960/Rd 1	#1 #1	Signed with AFL’s Oilers and was leagues rushing leader in 1961.  Also played for Raiders &  Chiefs
Joe Bellino – Navy	1960	Washington Redskins Boston Patriots	1961/Rd 17 1961/Rd 19	#227 #146	Served 4 years of active duty before playing 3 seasons for the Patriots.

Heisman Winner – School	Heisman Year	Drafted By	Draft Year/Round	Overall Selection	Summary
Ernie Davis – Syracuse	1961	Washington Redskins	1963/Rd 1	#1	Traded to Cleveland after draft.  Davis developed Leukemia & never played for Browns.  Died in 1962.
Terry Baker – Oregon State	1962	Los Angeles Rams	1963/Rd 1	#1	Played 3 seasons for Rams and 1 in the CFL.
Roger Staubach – Navy	1963	Dallas Cowboys	1964/d 10	#129	After military career, joined Dallas as a 27-year-old rookie.  6x Pro Bowl selections, & Super Bowl VI MVP.  Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee.
John Huarte – Notre Dame	1964	Philadelphia Eagles	1965/Rd 6	#76	Also drafted by AFL Jets.  Played for Jets one season and 5 other teams in 10-year pro career.
Mike Garrett – USC	1965	Los Angeles Rams	1966/Rd 2	#18	Also drafted by AFL K.C. Chiefs and won a Super Bowl (IV).  Finished career in ’73 with Chargers.
Steve Spurrier – Florida	1966	San Francisco 49ers	1967/Rd 1	#3	Played 9 seasons for SF and final year for expansion Tampa Bay. Threw 40 career TD passes.
Gary Beban – UCLA	1967	Los Angeles Rams	1968/Rd 2	#30	Played for Redskins in ’68 & ’69 before retiring.
O.J. Simpson – USC	1968	Buffalo Bills	1969/Rd 1	#1	In ’72, became first to surpass 2,000 yards rushing in single season.  5x All-Pro and Pro Football HOF.
Steve Owens – Oklahoma	1969	Detroit Lions	1970/Rd 1	#19	In 1971, became first Lion to rush for 1,000+ yards.  Earned Pro Bowl in ’71. Injuries ended career in 1975
Jim Plunkett – Stanford	1970	New England Patriots	1971/Rd 1	#1	Struggled with Pats and 49ers early in career, but won SB XV MVP honors by guiding Raiders to victory.
Pat Sullivan – Auburn	1971	Atlanta Falcons	1972/Rd 2	#40	Played 4 years in Atlanta & final 2 with Washington.
Johnny Rodgers – Nebraska	1972	San Diego Chargers	1973/Rd 1	#25	Began pro career as the top rookie in the CFL.  After 4 seasons in Montreal, finished career in ’78 in S.D.
John Cappelletti – Penn State	1973	Los Angeles Rams	1974/Rd 1	#11	Played 5 years with Rams & 4 with Chargers.
Archie Griffin – Ohio State	1974 & 75	Cincinnati Bengals	1976/Rd 1	#24	This Rhodes Scholar pursued a military career and became an Army Brigadier General.
Tony Dorsett – Pittsburgh	1976	Dallas Cowboys	1977/Rd 1	#2	11 years in Dallas and 1 in Denver. NFL ROY, 4x Pro Bowl player and SB XII champ.  Pro Football HOF
Earl Campbell – Texas	1977	Houston Oilers	1978/Rd 11	#1	Offensive ROY in ’78 and NFL MVP in ’79.  Was 3x All-Pro selection for Oilers.  Played 9 yrs Oilers/Saints

Heisman Winner – School	Heisman Year	Drafted By:	Draft Year/Round	Overall Selection	Summary
Billy Sims – Oklahoma	1978	Detroit Lions	1980/R 1	#1	Billy Sims earned 3 Pro Bowl selections with the Detroit Lions before suffering a career ending knee injury in 1984.  Sims was the 1980 NFL Offensive ROY.
Charles White – USC	1979	Cleveland Browns	1980/R 1	#27	After slow start in Cleveland, White earned Pro Bowl and Comeback POY with Rams in ’87. Retired in ’88.
George Rogers – South Carolina	1980	New Orleans Saints	1981/Rd 1	#1	Rogers was the 1981 NFL ROY while leading the league in rushing.  His career tailed off after that.  Rogers played 4 years in New Orleans and 3 for Washington.
Marcus Allen – USC	1981	Los Angeles Raiders	1982/Rd 1	#10	16 remarkable seasons with Raiders & Chiefs. 6x Pro Bowl, ’85 NFL MVP, SB XVIII MVP & Pro F’ball HOF.
Herschel Walker -Georgia	1982	Dallas Cowboys	1985/Rd 5	#114	Stint with USFL began 14-year pro career.  Won USFL rushing title in ’85 & ’85.  Gained 18,168 combined yards in 12 NFL years.
Mike Rozier- Nebraska	1983	Houston Oilers	1984/Supple- mental Rd 1	#2	Began 8-year pro career with USFL’s Pittsburgh Maulers and finished his career with the Atlanta Falcons
Doug Flutie – Boston Coll.	1984	Los Angeles Rams	1985/Rd 11	#285	Fluties’s 21-year career included the USFL, CFL & NFL.  3x Grey Cup champ & CFL’s most outstanding player 6x.  ’98 NFL Comeback Player of the Year.
Bo Jackson- Auburn	1985	Tampa Bay Buccaneers LA Raiders	1986/Rd 1   1988/Rd 7	#1   #183	Perhaps best pro athlete ever.  Played for MLB & NFL & was an All Star for KC and Pro Bowler for Oakland.  A serious hip injury in 1991 ended his NFL career.
Vinny Testaverde – Miami	1986	Tampa Bay Bucaneers	1987/Rd 1	#1	Played with 7 NFL teams over a 21-year span and enjoyed 2 Pro Bowl seasons.  At 43, became oldest starting QB to win a game in NFL history.
Tim Brown- Notre Dame	1987	Los Angles Raiders	1988/Rd 1	#6	Brown played all but one of his 17 seasons with the Raiders and earned 9 Pro Bowl seasons and 14,934 receiving yards which was the 2nd most in NFL history when he retired.
Barry Sanders – Oklahoma State	1988	Detroit Lions	1989/Rd 1	#3	Was on pace to become NFL’s all-time leading rusher when he unexpectedly retired before the ’99 season. Was a 10x Pro Bowl selection & ’97 NFL MVP.   Rushed for 15,269 yards and 109 TD’s in 10 seasons.
Andre Ware – Houston	1989	Detroit Lions	1990/Rd 1	#7	Played in Detroit 4 years before his NFL career ended with the Raiders in ’94.  Also played in the CFL.
Ty Detmer- BYU	1990	Green Bay Packers	1992/Rd 9	#230	Deemed too small to play NFL QB, but logged a 14-year career as mostly a backup for 6 teams.
Desmond Howard – Michigan	1991	Washington Redskins	1992/Rd 1	#4	Although drafted as a WR, Howard made his NFL mark as a punt returner where he was Super Bowl XXXI MVP for the Packers.  Played for 5 NFL teams.
Gino Torretta – Miami	1992	Minnesota Vikings	1993/Rd 7	#192	Was on the roster of 5 NFL teams in 5 year career, but saw little action.
Charlie Ward – Florida State	1993	Not drafted by an NFL team	N/A	N/A	After stating that he would not play in the NFL unless drafted in the 1st round, Charlie Ward was instead drafted into the NBA where he had a successful career

Heisman Winner – School Heisman Year Drafted By: Draft Year/Round Overall Selection Summary Rashaan Salaam – Colorado 1994 Chicago Bears 1995/Round 1 #21 Although rushing for 1000+ yds and 10 TD’s his rookie year, injuries and fumbles ended his NFL career after 4 seasons.  Salaam’s career ended in 2004 with the CFL. Eddie George – Ohio State 1995 Houston Oilers 1996/Round 1 #14 George was the ’96 NFL ROY and ran strong for the Oilers/Titans thru the ’03 season.  When George retired in ’04 after a season in Dall., he had 10,441 career rushing yards, 2,227 Rec. yards,  78 total TD’s & 4 Pro Bowls. Danny Wuerffel – Florida 1996 New Orleans Saints 1997/Round 4 #99 Wuerffel served primarily as a backup and his six year NFL career included stints in N.O., G. Bay, Chi. & Wash. Charles Woodson – Michigan 1997 Los Angeles Raiders 1998/Round 1 #4 Woodson’s remarkable career began with the Oakland Raiders in 1988 before joining Green Bay in 2006.  Woodson is a 3x NFL All-Pro selection and was the 2009 AP Defensive Player of the Year. Ricky Williams – Texas 1998 New Orleans Saints 1999/Round 1 #5 After being heralded as a football savior for Mike Ditka’s Saints, Williams played threel injury plagued seasons before being traded to Miami. Williams’ fist Dolphins stint began in 2002.  He then stepped away from football 2004 before returning in 2006. Ron Dayne – Wisconsin 1999 New York Giants 2000/Round 1 #11 Dayne’s NFL career earned early success as the powerful component of the Giants Thunder & Lightning duo.  However Dayne’s star status quickly faded and his career concluded with short stints in Denver, Houston & Indy. Chris Weinke – Florida State 2000 Carolina Panthers 2001/Round 4 #106 Weinke played for Carolina from 2001-06 and was the team’s starting QB during the 2001 1-15 season.  Weinke’s final stint was with San Francisco in 2007. Eric Crouch – Nebraska 2001 St. Louis Rams 2002/Round 3 #95 Crouch was drafted by the Rams who envisioned him as a wide receiver instead of a QB because of his small stature.  Crouch was injured before making his Rams debut.  He later played as a DB in NFL Europe and also played QB for the CFL’s Saskatchewan franchise in 2006-07. Carson Palmer – USC 2002 Cincinnati Bengals 2003/Round 1 #1 Palmer instantly became the face of the Bengals franchise and has proven to be a top notch pro QB.  Despite battling injuries, Palmer has earned two Pro Bowl berths (2005, 2006). Jason White – Oklahoma 2003 Undrafted N/A N/A Although not drafted, White was eventually signed by the Tennessee Titans as a free agent in 2005.  However the former Sooner soon stepped away from pro ball.

Heisman Winner – School Heisman Year Drafted By: Draft Year/Round Overall Selection Summary Matt Leinart – USC 2004 Arizona Cardinals 2006/Round 1 #10 Leinart has served primarily as a backup while with the Cardinals after struggling with inconsistencies and injuries.  Following the retirement of Kurt Warner at the end of the 2009 season, Leinart was renamed the team’s starting QB. Reggie Bush – USC 2005 New Orleans Saints 2006/Round 1 #2 Although not the complete dominating force some expected, Bush has been a big-play artist for the Saints and was a key component in the franchise winning their first Super Bowl. Troy Smith – Ohio State 2006 Baltimore Ravens 2007/Round 5 #174 Since being drafted by the Ravens, Smith has been a backup for most of his career. Tim Tebow – Florida 2007 Denver Broncos 2010/Round 1 #25 Tebow entered the NFL nearly three years after winning the Heisman Trophy.  The former Gator soared to instant stardom before he threw his first pass with his jersey ranking number 1 in NFL jersey sales.  In his second season, Tebow emerged as the starter and led the Broncos to a division title. Sam Bradford – Oklahoma 2008 St. Louis Rams 2010/Round 1 #1 Tremendous expectations are on the shoulders of Sam Bradford following his selection as the number 1 pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. Mark Ingram – Alabama 2009 New Orleans Saints 2011/Round 1 #28 Ingram joined the New Orleans Saints after being selected in first round of the 2011 Draft. Cam Newton– Auburn 2010 Carolina Panthers 2011/Round 1 #1 Newton completes the trifecta of being the Heisman winner, winning a national championship and being the NFL Draft’s first selection. Robert Griffin III Baylor 2011 Washington Redskins 2012/Round 1 #2 RG3 became the new face of the Redskins after Washington trades up for the draft’s #2 pick and select him. Johnny Manziel Texas A&M 2012 Cleveland Browns 2014/Round 1 #22 Manziel was selected by Cleveland with the 22nd overall selection of the 2014 NFL Draft. Jameis Winston Florida State 2013 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2015/Round 1 #1 Winston stayed in the “Sunshine State” with his selection by Tampa Bay with the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft. Marcus Mariota Oregon 2014 Tennessee Titans 2015/Round 1 #2 Much like Mariotta followed Jameis Winston as a Heisman winner, he followed the 2013 winner in the NFL Draft. Derrick Henry Alabama 2015 Tennessee Titans 2016/Round 2 #45 For the second season in a row, the Tennessee Titans drafted a Heisman Tropyy winner.  Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban said that he was shocked that Henry lasted that long in the draft and that Henry “Breaks the mold.” Lamar Jackson Louisville 2016 Baltimore Ravens 2018/Round 1 #32 Jackson played another year at Louisville after winning the 2016 Heisman.  Although drafted in the first round, three QB’s were drafted ahead of him including 2017 Heisman winner, Baker Mayfield. Baker Mayfield Oklahoma 2017 Cleveland Browns 2018/Round 1 #1 Mayfield was the first pick of the 2018 NFL Draft and preceded three QBs drafted later in the first round. Kyler Murray   Oklahoma 2018 Arizona Cardinals 2019/Round 1 #1 Murray was drafted as the first selection of the 2019 NFL Draft.

Heisman Winner School	Year	Team	Year/Round	Draft Selection
Joe Burrow LSU	2019	Cincinnati Bengals	2020/Rd 1	#1 Earned NFL Comeback Player of the Year honors after injuring knee his rookie year. Led Bengals to AFC Championship in 2021.
DeVonta Smith Alabama	2020	Philadelphia Eagles	2021 Rd 1	#10 Accumulated 2,112 yards receiving and 12 TDs in his first two seasons.
Bryce Young Alabama	2021	Carolina Panthers	2023 Rd 1	#1 overall pick selected by Carolina Panthers
Caleb Williams USC	2022	Chicago Bears	2024 Rd 1	#1 Overall pick

Jayden Daniels

2023

Washington Commanders

2024 Rd 1

#2 Overall Pick

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