The 2008 NFL Draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 26 and April 27, 2008. For the 29th consecutive year, ESPN televised the draft; the NFL Network also broadcast the event, its third year doing so. Of the 252 selections, 220 were regular selections in rounds one through seven, and 32 were compensatory selections, distributed among rounds three through seven.
For the first time since the common draft began, no wide receiver was selected in the first round. For the first time ever, the first two picks had the same last name (Jake Long and Chris Long). Also, a record 34 trades were made during the draft itself.
The schedule for the draft was changed: day one began at 3:00 PM EDT (1900 UTC), instead of noon, and consisted of just two rounds. Day two began with round three at 10:00 AM EDT (1400 UTC), instead of 11:00 AM. Moreover, the time limits for day one selections were reduced, from 15 minutes to ten for first-round picks and from ten minutes to seven in the second. The limit remained five minutes for all picks in rounds three through seven.
The draft also marked the official debut of a new NFL shield logo, replacing the old shield logo which had been used since 1970, featuring eight white stars to represent each of the league's eight divisions, and a football rotated to the same angle as the one on the top of the Vince Lombardi Trophy given to the Super Bowl champion.
In the explanations below, (PD) indicates trades completed prior to the start of the draft (i.e. Pre-Draft), while (D) denotes trades that took place during the 2008 draft.
Round one
Round two
Round three
Round four
Round five
Round six
Round seven
Fourth round
Jaguars to Ravens. See first-round trade above.
Panthers to Eagles. See first-round trade above.
Falcons to Redskins. See first-round trade above.
Jets to Packers. See first-round trade above.
Vikings to Eagles. See second-round trade above.
Packers to Jets. Green Bay traded their fourth round selection (#113 overall) and fifth round selection (#162 overall) to the Jets for New York's fourth round selection (#102 overall)
Eagles to Dolphins. Philadelphia traded their fourth-round selection (#115 overall) to Miami for running back Lorenzo Booker.
Lions to Cowboys. See third-round trade above.
Cowboys to Raiders. Dallas traded their fourth-round selection (#100 overall) to Oakland for their fourth-round selection (#104 overall) and seventh-round selection (#213 overall).
Cowboys to Browns. Dallas traded their fourth-round selection (#104 overall) to Cleveland for their fourth-round selection (#122 overall), and fifth-round selection (#155 overall).
Cowboys to Browns. Dallas traded their fourth-round selection (#111 overall) to Cleveland for their 2009 NFL Draft third-round selection.
Steelers to Giants. Pittsburgh traded their fourth-round selection (#123 overall) to New York Giants for their fourth-round selection (#130 overall), and a sixth-round selection (#194 overall).
Redskins to Titans. Washington traded their fourth-round selection (#103 overall) to Tennessee Titans for their fourth-round selection (#124 overall), and a fifth-round selection (#157 overall).
Ravens to Raiders. Baltimore traded the fourth-round selection obtained from Jacksonville in Round 1 (#125 overall) to the Oakland Raiders for CB Fabian Washington.
Fifth round
No. 164: Patriots to Saints. See No. 7: Patriots to Saints above.
Chiefs to Lions. See first-round trade above.
Redskins to Falcons. See first-round trade above.
Cowboys to Seahawks. See first-round trade above.
Eagles to Vikings. See second-round trade above.
Jaguars to Cowboys. Jacksonville traded its fifth-round selection (#143 overall) to Dallas for its fifth-round selection (#155 overall) and seventh-round selection (#213 overall).
Packers to Vikings. Green Bay traded its fifth-round selection (#137 overall) to Minnesota for its fifth-round selection (#150 overall) and seventh-round selection (#209 overall).
Patriots to Buccaneers. New England traded fifth-round and seventh-round selections (#160 and #238 overall) to Tampa Bay for its fifth-round selection (#153 overall).
Redskins to Rams. Washington traded fifth-round and seventh-round selections (#157 and #228 overall) to St. Louis for its two sixth-round selections (#168 and #180 overall).
Sixth round
Ravens to Texans. See first-round trade above.
Steelers to Giants. See fourth-round trade above.
Eagles to Browns. Philadelphia traded to Cleveland the 6th round selection they had previously received from the Browns for Hank Fraley (#191 overall). (see Pre-Draft Trades above) In return, the Browns gave the Eagles their 5th round pick in the 2009 draft.
Seventh round
Cowboys to Seahawks. See first-round trade above.
Raiders to Cowboys. See fourth-round trade above.
Cowboys to Jaguars. See fifth-round trade above.
Packers to Vikings. See fifth-round trade above.
Patriots to Buccaneers. See fifth-round trade above.
