This is a list of the Washington Redskins NFL Draft selections. The Washington Redskins franchise was founded as the Boston Braves, named after the local baseball franchise. The team changed their name to the Redskins in 1933 and moved to Washington, D.C. in 1937.
Every year during April, each NFL franchise seeks to add new players to its roster through a collegiate draft known as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting", which is more commonly known as the NFL Draft. Teams are ranked in inverse order based on the previous season's record, with the worst record picking first, and the second worst picking second and so on. The two exceptions to this order are made for teams that appeared in the previous Super Bowl; the Super Bowl champion always picks 32nd, and the Super Bowl loser always picks 31st. Teams have the option of trading away their picks to other teams for different picks, players, cash, or a combination thereof. Thus, it is not uncommon for a team's actual draft pick to differ from their assigned draft pick, or for a team to have extra or no draft picks in any round due to these trades.
The Boston Redskins were one of the nine original franchises that participated in the 1936 NFL Draft, which was the first official draft of the National Football League. The first player ever selected in the draft, Heisman Trophy winner Jay Berwanger, chose not to play professional football. Riley Smith, taken second overall by the Redskins, holds the distinction of being the first drafted player to play in the NFL. The Redskins also hold the distinction of being the only team to draft the same player in two different drafts, Cal Rossi.
Inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame
Voted one of the 80 Greatest Redskins
Selected to Pro Bowl
Never played for the Redskins
Never played Professional football
The dispersal draft gave NFL teams the league rights to the players from teams in the dissolved All-America Football Conference.
The supplemental draft gave NFL teams the league rights to the players who had been eligible to be drafted but were not because they were under contract with teams in the United States Football League or the Canadian Football League.
For each player selected in the Supplemental Draft, the team forfeited its pick in that round in the draft of the following season.
The following schools have had multiple players selected by the Washington Redskins since the 1936 NFL Draft through the 2013 NFL Draft. This does not include the 1950 AAFC Dispersal Draft and the Supplemental Drafts (1984, 2009).
a The Washington Redskins chose Cal Rossi with the ninth overall pick in the 1946 NFL Draft. However, Rossi was a junior and not eligible to be drafted. They chose him again in the 1947 NFL Draft, but he never intended to play football professionally. This means that the Redskins have used 14 picks on UCLA players, despite drafting only 13 players.
b On January 19, 1967, the Board of Trustees voted to end George Washington's football program. Poor game attendance and the expense of the program contributed to the decision. A former GW player, Harry Ledford, believed that most people were unwilling to commute into Washington, D.C., which did not have a metro rail at the time, on Friday nights to RFK Stadium, which was perceived as an unsafe area. Additionally, Maryland and Virginia were nationally competitive teams that drew potential spectators away from GW.
c The university is now known as the University of North Texas.
d At the conclusion of the 1992 season, the Santa Clara football program was discontinued, due to new NCAA regulations which mandated all sports be played at the same level at each university. Santa Clara had fielded all Division I teams with the exception of the Division II football team, and elected not to field a team at the Division I-AA level.
e On November 30, 1964, it was announced that the University of Detroit Mercy would discontinue its football program, due in part to increased expenses and poor attendance.
f The university is now known as the University of Memphis.
g The university is now known as Loyola Marymount University. The football program was discontinued after the 1973 season.
h The University of the Pacific's Board of Regents voted to eliminate the football program following the 1995 season, due to the high costs of the team and shrinking attendance.
i On January 3, 1961 the University of Scranton discontinued its football program. The program had been losing money for more than a decade primarily due to poor attendance at the games.
j The university is now known as the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.
k Boston University terminated their Division I-AA football program on Homecoming Weekend 1997 during a one-win season in the Atlantic 10.
l At the conclusion of the 1992 season, the California-Santa Barbara football program was discontinued, due to new NCAA regulations which mandated all sports be played at the same level at each university. Santa Barbara had fielded all Division I teams with the exception of the Division II football team, and elected not to field a team at the Division I-AA level.
m Cameron University discontinued its football program on December 11, 1992, due to the costs of maintaining the program, particularly the need to replace the artificial turf at the stadium.
n Marquette University discontinued its football program after the 1960 season, after accumulating several years of budget deficits for the university.
o The University of Maryland Eastern Shore was once a powerhouse black college football program, producing five undefeated seasons between 1947 and 1960 (as Maryland State College), but like many smaller colleges, the high costs associated with operating a Division I football program and complying with Title IX became too much of a burden, and the team was shut down after the 1979 season.
p New York University terminated its intercollegiate football program in 1953.
q The university is now known as the University of Louisiana at Monroe.
r The university is now known as Texas State University–San Marcos.
s The university is now known as the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
t On March 3, 2004, the board of trustees for Saint Mary's College of California, based on recommendations of an Athletics Review Task Force, shut down the football program.
u The university is now known as Troy University.
v The university is now known as West Texas A&M University.
w The Board of Trustees for Xavier University ended the football program in 1973 following a determination that it lost $200,000 every year.
