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.
Asterisks after active season numbers denote that the player is still active. Asterisks after seasons with Jets numbers denote player is still with the Jets.
^
abcdefgThere appears to have been no real draft order in the
American Football League Drafts. Some sources indicate the selection number for players, but they conflict with one another.
^Brown did not play in the American Football League; he played for the
British Columbia Lions of the
Canadian Football League from 1960 to 1965. He was later inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.
^Stephens was one of the first major black quarterbacks in collegiate football, leading the University of Minnesota to a college football championship and two
Rose Bowl appearances during his tenure. Stephens was drafted by the Titans in the AFL, and the
Cleveland Browns in the second round of the
1962 NFL draft, but neither team gave him any playing time. Stephens went to the Canadian Football League where he played two seasons with the
Montreal Alouettes.
^Stovall was drafted as the second overall pick in the
1963 NFL draft, and opted to play with the St. Louis Cardinals.
^Namath was originally drafted by the
St. Louis Cardinals as the 12th overall pick in the
1965 NFL draft, but after being chosen by the Jets in the AFL Draft, he chose to play in the AFL.
^Nowatzke was drafted by the
Detroit Lions as the 11th overall pick in the 1965 NFL Draft, and chose to play with the Lions in the NFL instead of the Jets.
^
abcA new system called the
Common Draft was implemented from 1967 to 1969. In this system, both the NFL and AFL held a joint draft for college players. The Common Draft took place after the agreement for an AFL–NFL merger in 1966.
^Seiler was chosen as the 12th overall pick in the Common Draft, but he was the fourth overall selection made by an AFL team.
^White was chosen as the 17th overall pick in the Common Draft, but he was the sixth overall selection made by an AFL team.
^Foley was chosen as the 26th overall pick in the Common Draft, but he was the eighth overall selection made by an AFL team.
^The Jets acquired their second first-round pick in the 1972 Draft from the Washington Redskins.
^Smith, Timothy W. (1994-04-25).
"Jets Move Up in Draft to Take Glenn, a Cornerback". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-10-15.The Jets traded their 13th overall pick and a fifth-round selection to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for the Saints' twelfth overall pick.
^Smith, Timothy W. (1995-04-23).
"Bengals Take Carter at No. 1; Sapp Slips to 12th". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-10-15.The Jets traded wide receiver Rob Moore to the Arizona Cardinals in exchange for the Cardinals' 16th overall pick and fourth-round selection.
^Anderson, Dave (1997-04-20).
"A Wearin' Of the Green For Tuna". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-10-15.The Jets originally had the first overall pick in the draft, but they traded it to the
St. Louis Rams for the Rams' sixth overall pick and third, fourth and seventh round selections. The Jets then traded their sixth overall pick to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in exchange for the Buccaneers' eighth overall pick and a fourth-round selection.
^Battista, Judy (2000-04-14).
"Jets Get 12th Pick in Draft From 49ers". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-10-15.The Jets gave their 16th and 48th overall (second-round) draft picks to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for the 49ers' 12th overall selection.
^
abBattista, Judy; Mike Freeman (2000-04-12).
"Jets Close To Dealing Johnson To Bucs". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-10-15.The Jets traded wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in exchange for the Buccaneers' 13th and 27th overall picks.
^Battista, Judy (2001-04-22).
"Jets Trade Up for Johnson Replacement". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-10-15.The Jets traded their 19th overall pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for the Steelers' 16th overall pick.
^Crouse, Karen (2007-04-29).
"Jets Trade Up to Draft Revis With 14th Pick Tackle". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-10-15.The Jets traded their 25th, 59th (second round), and 164th (fifth round) overall picks to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for the Panthers' 14th and 191st (sixth-round) selections.