1983 NFL draft: 35 picks in our player database

35 players from the 1983 draft are in our dataset. The earliest pick we hold is John Elway (round 1, pick 1). Most common positions: quarterback 4, running back 4, center 4.

Round 1

Pick	Player	Pos	Drafted by	College
1	John Elway	QB	Baltimore Ravens	Stanford
2	Eric Dickerson	RB	Los Angeles Rams	SMU
4	Chris Hinton	G	Denver Broncos	Northwestern
5	Billy Ray Smith Jr.	LB	Los Angeles Chargers	Arkansas
9	Bruce Matthews	C	Houston Texans	USC
13	James Jones	RB	Detroit Lions	Florida
14	Jim Kelly	QB	Buffalo Bills	Miami
16	Mike Pitts	DE	Atlanta Falcons	Alabama
18	Willie Gault	WR	Chicago Bears	Tennessee
19	Joey Browner	DB	Minnesota Vikings	USC
22	Gill Byrd	DB	Los Angeles Chargers	San Jose State
23	Jim Jeffcoat	DE	Dallas Cowboys	Arizona State
24	Ken O'Brien	QB	New York Jets	UC Davis / Sacramento State
26	Don Mosebar	C	Las Vegas Raiders	USC
27	Dan Marino	QB	Miami Dolphins	Pittsburgh
28	Darrell Green	CB	Washington Commanders	Texas A&M University-Kingsville

Round 2

Pick	Player	Pos	Drafted by	College
30	Harvey Salem	OT	Houston Texans	California
32	Henry Ellard	WR	Los Angeles Rams	Fresno State
34	Dave Lutz	G	Kansas City Chiefs	Georgia Tech
35	Wes Hopkins	S	Philadelphia Eagles	SMU
37	Leonard Marshall	DT	New York Giants	LSU
39	Darryl Talley	OLB	Buffalo Bills	West Virginia
44	Cedric Mack	DB	Los Angeles Rams	Baylor
45	Randy Grimes	C	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Baylor
49	Roger Craig	RB	San Francisco 49ers	Nebraska
51	Johnny Hector	RB	New York Jets	Texas A&M
53	Ray Horton	FS	Cincinnati Bengals	Washington
54	Bill Pickel	DT	Las Vegas Raiders	Rutgers

Round 3

Pick	Player	Pos	Drafted by	College
61	Albert Lewis	FS	Kansas City Chiefs	Grambling State

Round 4

Pick	Player	Pos	Drafted by	College
93	Trey Junkin	TE	Buffalo Bills	Louisiana Tech
103	Lionel Washington	DB	Los Angeles Rams	Tulane
110	Greg Townsend	DE	Las Vegas Raiders	TCU / Long Beach City College

Round 6

Pick	Player	Pos	Drafted by	College
167	Reggie Roby	P	Miami Dolphins	Iowa

Round 8

Pick	Player	Pos	Drafted by	College
203	Richard Dent	DE	Chicago Bears	Tennessee State

Round 11

Pick	Player	Pos	Drafted by	College
289	Jesse Sapolu	C	San Francisco 49ers	Hawaii

Only players in our dataset are listed (2025 rosters and long-career legends), not the full draft. Source: nflverse (CC BY 4.0).

1983 draft: questions

Who is the earliest 1983 pick on this page?

John Elway, round 1, pick 1, by the Baltimore Ravens.

How many 1983 draftees are still playing?

0 of the 35 players listed here are on a 2025 roster.

Which colleges produced the most 1983 picks here?

USC (3), Baylor (2), SMU (2).

1982 class 1984 class