Widely considered the greatest defensive draft of all time, the 1981 NFL Draft was held on April 28-29, 1981. A total of 332 players were chosen over 12 rounds. The New Orleans Saints chose Running Back George Rogers from South Carolina as the first pick in the draft. Future Hall of Famers Lawrence Taylor, Kenny Easley, Ronnie Lott, Mike Singletary, Howie Long, Rickey Jackson and Russ Grimm were selected in this draft.
For the first time, the top two picks of the draft were named Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Year, respectively.
Pick # NFL Team Player Position College
1 New Orleans Saints George Rogers Running back South Carolina
2 New York Giants Lawrence Taylor Linebacker North Carolina
3 New York Jets Freeman McNeil Running back UCLA
4 Seattle Seahawks Kenny Easley Strong Safety UCLA
5 St. Louis Cardinals E. J. Junior Linebacker Alabama
6 Green Bay Packers Rich Campbell Quarterback California
7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Hugh Green Linebacker Pitt
8 San Francisco 49ers Ronnie Lott Cornerback USC
9 Los Angeles Rams Mel Owens Linebacker Michigan
10 Cincinnati Bengals David Verser Wide receiver Kansas
11 Chicago Bears Keith Van Horne Offensive tackle USC
12 Baltimore Colts Randy McMillan Running back Pitt
13 Miami Dolphins David Overstreet Running back Oklahoma
14 Kansas City Chiefs Willie Scott Tight end South Carolina
15 Denver Broncos Dennis Smith Safety USC
16 Detroit Lions Mark Nichols Wide receiver San José State
17 Pittsburgh Steelers Keith Gary Defensive end Oklahoma
18 Baltimore Colts Donnell Thompson Defensive tackle North Carolina
19 New England Patriots Brian Holloway Offensive tackle Stanford
20 Washington Redskins Mark May Offensive tackle Pitt
21 Oakland Raiders Ted Watts Cornerback Texas Tech
22 Cleveland Browns Hanford Dixon Cornerback Southern Miss
23 Oakland Raiders Curt Marsh Offensive tackle Washington
24 San Diego Chargers James Brooks Running back Auburn
25 Atlanta Falcons Bobby Butler Cornerback Florida State
26 Dallas Cowboys Howard Richards Offensive tackle Missouri
27 Philadelphia Eagles Leonard Mitchell Defensive end Houston
28 Buffalo Bills Booker Moore Running back Penn State
- New Orleans Saints Dave Wilson Quarterback Illinois
29 New Orleans Saints Russell Gary Strong Safety University of Nebraska
30 New York Jets Marion Barber Jr. Running back University of Minnesota
31 Seattle Seahawks David Hughes Running back Boise State University
32 New York Giants Dave Young Tight end Purdue University
33 St. Louis Cardinals Neil Lomax Quarterback Portland State University
34 Tampa Bay Buccaneers James Wilder Sr. Running back University of Missouri
35 Green Bay Packers Gary Lewis Tight end University of Texas at Arlington
36 San Francisco 49ers(from Washington) John Harty Defensive tackle University of Iowa
37 Cincinnati Bengals Cris Collinsworth Wide receiver University of Florida
38 Chicago Bears(from San Francisco) Mike Singletary Linebacker Baylor University
39 Minnesota Vikings Mardye McDole Wide receiver Mississippi State University
40 San Francisco 49ers(from Chicago) Eric Wright Cornerback University of Missouri
41 Kansas City Chiefs Joe Delaney Running back Northwestern Louisiana State
42 Denver Broncos Clay Brown Tight end Brigham Young University
43 Los Angeles Rams Jim Collins Linebacker Syracuse University
44 Pittsburgh Steelers Anthony Washington Cornerback Fresno State
45 Minnesota Vikings Robin Sendlein Linebacker University of Texas at Austin
46 Detroit Lions Curtis Green Defensive end Alabama State University
47 New England Patriots Tony Collins Running back East Carolina University
48 Oakland Raiders Howie Long Defensive tackle Villanova University
49 Buffalo Bills Chris Williams Cornerback Louisiana State University
50 Buffalo Bills Byron Franklin Wide receiver Auburn
51 New Orleans Saints Rickey Jackson Linebacker University of Pittsburgh
52 Minnesota Vikings Jarvis Redwine Running back University of Nebraska
53 Dallas Cowboys Doug Donley Wide receiver Ohio State University
54 Atlanta Falcons Lyman White Linebacker Louisiana State University
55 Philadelphia Eagles Dean Miraldi Guard University of Utah
56 Miami Dolphins Andra Franklin Running back University of Nebraska