The 1994 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 24–25, 1994, at the Marriot Marquis in New York City, New York.[71][72] The league also held a supplemental draft after the regular draft and before the regular season. This was the first draft in which the rounds were reduced to seven in total.
The highlight of ESPN's coverage of this draft was a verbal altercation between ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper, Jr. and Indianapolis Colts' GM Bill Tobin. While disputing the Colts pick of linebacker Trev Alberts of Nebraska (when Kiper felt a quarterback such as Trent Dilfer made more sense), Tobin famously said to the ESPN crew "Who in the hell is Mel Kiper, anyway? I mean, here's a guy who criticizes everybody, whoever they take. In my knowledge of him, he's never even put on a jockstrap, he's never been a player, he's never been a coach, he's never been a scout, he's never been an administrator, and all of a sudden, he's an expert. Mel Kiper has no more credentials to do what he's doing than my neighbor, and my neighbor's a postman and he doesn't even have season tickets to the NFL."[73] Alberts is considered a draft bust with just four sacks in three seasons; Dilfer, although never a star, had a productive career, including game-managing the Baltimore Ravens to a win in Super Bowl XXXV several years after being drafted.
This was also the final draft for both Los Angeles football teams for over two decades; by the 1995 draft, the Raiders had returned to Oakland and the Rams began a 21-year tenancy in St. Louis.
Player selections
Supplemental draft
Trades
In the explanations below, (D) denotes trades that took place during the 1994 Draft, while (PD) indicates trades completed pre-draft.
Notable undrafted players
Hall of Famers
- Marshall Faulk, running back from San Diego State, drafted 1st round 2nd overall by Indianapolis Colts.
- Larry Allen, offensive guard from Sonoma State, drafted 2nd round 46th overall by the Dallas Cowboys.
- Kurt Warner, quarterback from University of Northern Iowa, undrafted.
- Kevin Mawae, offensive lineman from Louisiana State University, drafted 2nd round 36th overall by the Seattle Seahawks.