Earl Campbell and the Powerhouse Class: The 1978 NFL Draft Legacy

If you could guarantee your franchise a gold jacket with the first overall pick, would you take it? In 1978, the Houston Oilers did just that. It was a draft defined by a “Tyler Rose,” a transformation of the tight end position, and a class of athletes that would eventually redefine the record books in Canton.

Draft Storyline

May 2, 1978 – The first pick in the 1978 NFL Draft by the Houston Oilers was Earl Campbell from the University of Texas. Campbell had a remarkable career in the NFL and was eventually enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1991.

Other members of the 1978 Draft class that have joined him in Canton, according to the Pro Football Reference website, are Stanford wide receiver James Lofton, who was picked 6th in that draft by the Green Bay Packers, and Alabama tight end Ozzie Newsome, who was chosen by the Browns at the 23rd overall selection.

The 1978 NFL Draft stands as a pivotal moment in gridiron lore, proving that the right choice at the top of the board can change a city’s football identity forever. From Campbell’s bruising runs to Newsome’s revolutionary play as a receiving tight end, the ripples of May 2, 1978, are still felt in the league today.

Complete List of Players in the NFL Draft

While hundreds of players were selected over 12 rounds in 1978, the first round set a legendary tone for the era:

Pick	Tm	Player	Pos
1	HOU	Earl Campbell HOF	RB
2	KAN	Art Still	DE
3	NOR	Wes Chandler	WR
4	NYJ	Chris Ward	T
5	BUF	Terry Miller	RB
6	GNB	James Lofton HOF	WR
7	SFO	Ken MacAfee	TE
8	CIN	Ross Browner	DE
9	SEA	Keith Simpson	DB
10	NYG	Gordon King	T
11	DET	Luther Bradley	DB
12	CLE	Clay Matthews	LB
13	ATL	Mike Kenn	T
14	SDG	John Jefferson	WR
15	STL	Steve Little	K
16	CIN	Blair Bush	C
17	TAM	Doug Williams	QB
18	NWE	Bob Cryder	T
19	STL	Ken Greene	DB
20	RAM	Elvis Peacock	RB
21	MIN	Randy Holloway	DE
22	PIT	Ron Johnson	DB
23	CLE	Ozzie Newsome HOF	TE
24	SFO	Dan Bunz	LB
25	BAL	Reese McCall	TE
26	GNB	John Anderson	LB
27	DEN	Don Latimer	NT
28	DAL	Larry Bethea	DT
29	KAN	Sylvester Hicks	DE
30	TAM	Johnny Davis	RB
31	NYJ	Mark Merrill	LB
32	BUF	Dee Hardison	DE
33	NOR	J.T. Taylor	T
34	GNB	Mike Hunt	LB
35	CIN	Ray Griffin	DB
36	SEA	Keith Butler	LB
37	NYG	Odis McKinney	DB
38	BUF	Scott Hutchinson	DE
39	CLE	Johnny Evans	P
40	DET	Al Baker	DE
41	SDG	Buddy Hardaway	T
42	STL	John Barefield	LB
43	ATL	Steve Stewart	LB
44	TAM	Brett Moritz	G
45	CIN	Deacon Turner	RB
46	RAM	Stan Johnson	NT
47	SFO	Walt Downing	G
48	MIN	John Turner	DB
49	PIT	Willie Fry	DE
50	NWE	Matt Cavanaugh	QB
51	MIA	Guy Benjamin	QB
52	BAL	Mike Woods	LB
53	RAM	Ron Smith	WR
54	OAK	Dave Browning	DE
55	DEN	William Gay	DE
56	DAL	Todd Christensen	TE
57	OAK	Derrick Jensen	RB
58	KAN	Gary Spani	LB
59	BUF	Dennis Johnson	RB
60	NOR	Barry Bennett	DT
61	NYJ	Mickey Shuler	TE
62	GNB	Estus Hood	DB
63	SEA	Bob Jury	DB
64	MIA	Lyman Smith	DT
65	BUF	Danny Fulton	WR
66	PHI	Reggie Wilkes	LB
67	CLE	Larry Collins	RB
68	CLE	Mark Miller	QB
69	STL	Doug Greene	DB
70	ATL	Stan Waldemore	G
71	SDG	Rickey Anderson	RB
72	CIN	Ted Vincent	DT
73	HOU	Gifford Nielsen	QB
74	CHI	Brad Shearer	DT
75	MIN	Whip Walton	LB
76	PIT	Craig Colquitt	P
77	NWE	Carlos Pennywell	WR
78	RAM	Frank Corral	K
79	SFO	Ernie Hughes	C
80	RAM	Leon White	C
81	MIA	Jimmy Cefalo	WR
82	OAK	Lindsey Mason	T
83	CIN	Don Bass	WR
84	DAL	Dave Hudgens	DT
85	KAN	Danny Johnson	LB
86	OAK	Maurice Harvey	DB
87	NOR	Don Schwartz	DB
88	NYJ	Dodie Donnell	RB
89	BUF	Lucius Sanford	LB
90	NYG	Billy Taylor	RB
91	SFO	Terry LeCount	WR
92	PHI	Dennis Harrison	DE
93	MIA	Gerald Small	DB
94	DET	Bill Fifer	T
95	ATL	Brian Cabral	LB
96	STL	George Collins	T
97	STL	Jimmy Childs	WR
98	HOU	Mike Renfro	WR
99	CIN	Dennis Law	WR
100	MIN	Jim Hough	G
101	PIT	Larry Anderson	DB
102	NWE	Dwight Wheeler	T
103	CLE	Pete Pullara	G
104	KAN	Pete Woods	QB
105	RAM	Mark Manges	QB
106	MIA	Eric Laakso	T
107	DET	Homer Elias	G
108	OAK	Joe Stewart	WR
109	DET	Larry Tearry	C
110	DAL	Alois Blackwell	RB
111	MIA	Ted Burgmeier	DB
112	KAN	Jerrold McRae	WR
113	NYJ	Randy Sidler	LB
114	BUF	Ken Spaeth	TE
115	NOR	Eric Felton	DB
116	GNB	Mike Douglass	LB
117	BAL	Frank Myers	T
118	KAN	Dwight Carey	DT
119	SEA	Louis Bullard	T
120	NYG	Terry Jackson	DB
121	DET	Amos Fowler	C
122	CLE	Keith Wright	WR
123	DET	Dan Gray	DT
124	STL	Earl Carr	RB
125	ATL	Dennis Pearson	WR
126	CIN	Tom Dinkel	LB
127	SFO	Archie Reese	DE
128	GNB	Willie Wilder	RB
129	NWE	Bill Matthews	LB
130	PHI	Norris Banks	RB
131	CIN	Rob Hertel	QB
132	NYG	Jim Krahl	DT
133	SFO	Bruce Threadgill	DB
134	KAN	Robert Woods	WR
135	SDG	John Choma	G
136	OAK	Derrick Ramsey	TE
137	NYG	Brian DeRoo	WR
138	DAL	Rich Rosen	G
139	CHI	John Skibinski	RB
140	NYJ	Bobby Jackson	DB
141	NOR	Mike Rieker	QB
142	NYJ	Gregg Robinson	DE
143	OAK	Tom Davis	C
144	GNB	Leotis Harris	G
145	BUF	Eric Smith	T
146	SEA	Glenn Starks	WR
147	NYG	Randy Pass	G
148	SFO	Elliott Walker	RB
149	CLE	Al Pitts	C
150	DET	Dwight Hicks	DB
151	STL	Jack Williams	DE
152	ATL	Rodney Parker	WR
153	DET	Tony Ardizzone	C
154	HOU	Conrad Rucker	TE
155	CIN	Steve Geise	RB
156	NWE	Kem Coleman	LB
157	NOR	Frank Chesley	LB
158	CHI	Mekeli Ieremia	DT
159	WAS	Tony Green	RB
160	PIT	Randy Reutershan	WR
161	BAL	Ben Garry	RB
162	TAM	Elijah Marshall	WR
163	MIA	Doug Betters	DE
164	OAK	Mike Levenseller	WR
165	DET	Jesse Thompson	WR
166	DAL	Harold Randolph	LB
167	ATL	Alfred Jackson	WR
168	KAN	Ricky Odom	DB
169	NYJ	Levi Armstrong	DB
170	NYJ	Jim Earley	RB
171	BUF	Mario Celotto	LB
172	GNB	George Plasketes	LB
173	SEA	John Harris	DB
174	NYG	Dan Doornink	RB
175	SFO	Fred Quillan	C
176	OAK	Arthur Whittington	RB
177	DET	Bruce Gibson	RB
178	MIA	Karl Baldischwiler	T
179	ATL	James Wright	TE
180	SDG	Cliff Featherstone	DB
181	STL	Dave Stief	WR
182	CIN	Joe Branson	DB
183	BUF	Steve Powell	RB
184	KAN	Bill Kellar	WR
185	CHI	Herman Jones	WR
186	PHI	Greg Marshall	DT
187	PIT	Mark Dufresne	TE
188	NWE	Mike Hawkins	LB
189	RAM	Reggie Doss	DE
190	MIA	Lloyd Henry	WR
191	BAL	Jeff Logan	RB
192	OAK	Earl Inmon	LB
193	CIN	Dan Bass	G
194	DAL	Tom Randall	G
195	KAN	John Henry White	RB
196	TAM	John McGriff	LB
197	NYJ	Derrick Gaffney	WR
198	NWE	Terry Falcon	G
199	NOR	Brooks Williams	TE
200	GNB	Dennis Sproul	QB
201	NYG	Jeff Grady	LB
202	WAS	Walker Lee	WR
203	NYJ	Mike Mock	LB
204	MIN	Mike Wood	K
205	CLE	Jesse Turnbow	DT
206	DET	Jim Breech	K
207	OAK	Mark Nichols	LB
208	PIT	Rick Moser	RB
209	ATL	David Adkins	LB
210	HOU	J.C. Wilson	DB
211	CIN	Bill Miller	T
212	CHI	George Freitas	TE
213	NYJ	Roy Eppes	DB
214	PIT	Andre Keys	WR
215	NWE	Mosi Tatupu	RB
216	ATL	David Williams	DB
217	MIA	Sean Clancy	LB
218	BAL	Monte Anthony	RB
219	WAS	Don Hover	LB
220	SDG	Gavin Hedrick	P
221	DEN	Franky Smith	T
222	DAL	Homer Butler	WR
223	TAM	Willie Taylor	WR
224	KAN	Larry Brown	T
225	NYJ	Reggie Grant	DB
226	NOR	Richard Carter	DB
227	NYJ	Neil Hutton	DB
228	GNB	Keith Myers	QB
229	SFO	Herman Redden	DB
230	PHI	Charles Williams	DB
231	SEA	Rich Grimmett	T
232	NYG	Bill Swiacki	TE
233	SFO	Dean Moore	LB
234	CLE	Jon Kramer	G
235	STL	Joe Mosley	TE
236	ATL	Tom Pridemore	DB
237	SDG	Henry Bradley	NT
238	CIN	Ron Shumon	LB
239	HOU	Jim Mol	DE
240	MIN	Mike Deutsch	P
241	PIT	Lance Reynolds	T
242	NWE	Tim Petersen	LB
243	WAS	John Hurley	QB
244	CHI	Mike Martin	LB
245	BAL	Dave Studdard	T
246	RAM	Andre Anderson	DE
247	MIA	Bruce Hardy	TE
248	SDG	Blake Whitlatch	LB
249	SFO	Steve McDaniels	T
250	DAL	Russ Williams	DB
251	KAN	Earl Bryant	DE
252	TAM	Aaron Brown	LB
253	NYG	Greg Jorgensen	G
254	NYJ	Louis Richardson	DE
255	BUF	Will Grant	C
256	GNB	Larry Key	RB
257	ATL	Ricky Patton	RB
258	SEA	Rob Stewart	WR
259	GNB	Mark Totten	C
260	SFO	Mike Connell	P
261	CLE	Brent Watson	T
262	DET	Fred Arrington	LB
263	ATL	Ray Strong	RB
264	SDG	Charles Price	TE
265	STL	Randy Gill	LB
266	HOU	Steve Young	TE
267	CIN	Tom DePaso	LB
268	PIT	Doug Becker	LB
269	NWE	Bryan Ferguson	DB
270	WAS	Scott Hertenstein	DE
271	CHI	Ben Zambiasi	LB
272	MIN	Hughie Shaw	RB
273	RAM	Charles Peal	T
274	MIA	Mark Dennard	C
275	BAL	Dallas Owens	DB
276	PIT	Tom Jurich	K
277	DEN	Vince Kinney	WR
278	DAL	Barry Tomasetti	G
279	PIT	Nat Terry	DB
280	KAN	Ray Milo	DB
281	NYJ	Pat Ryan	QB
282	BUF	Jerry Blanton	LB
283	NOR	Nathan Besaint	DT
284	GNB	Terry Jones	NT
285	NOR	Dave Riley	RB
286	NYG	Dennis Heim	DT
287	SFO	Willie McCray	DE
288	PHI	Billy Campfield	RB
289	DET	Richard Murray	DT
290	CLE	Larry Gillard	DT
291	OAK	Dean Jones	DB
292	CIN	Calvin Prince	RB
293	ATL	Milton Reed	DB
294	CIN	Mark Donahue	G
295	HOU	Willie Thicklen	WR
296	NWE	Charlie Williams	LB
297	WAS	Mike Williams	DB
298	CHI	Walt Underwood	DE
299	MIN	Ron Harris	RB
300	PIT	Tom Brzoza	C
301	SEA	George Halas	LB
302	BAL	Henry Mason	WR
303	RAM	Ron Hostetler	LB
304	OAK	Bob Glazebrook	DB
305	DEN	Lacy Brumley	T
306	DAL	Dennis Thurman	DB
307	TAM	Kevin McLee	RB
308	BUF	Richard Crump	RB
309	NOR	Larry Hardy	TE
310	KAN	Willie Brock	C
311	NYJ	Alan Williams	P
312	GNB	Eason Ramson	TE
313	NYG	Greg Lawson	RB
314	SFO	Dan Irons	T
315	PHI	Mark Slater	C
316	SEA	Jeff Bergeron	RB
317	CLE	Leo Biedermann	T
318	DET	Mark Patterson	DB
319	STL	Anthony Clay	LB
320	ATL	Daria Butler	LB
321	SDG	Kevin Bell	WR
322	HOU	John Schuhmacher	G
323	CIN	Kim Featsent	WR
324	WAS	Steve McCabe	G
325	CHI	Lew Sibley	LB
326	MIN	Jeff Morrow	T
327	PIT	Brad Carr	LB
328	NWE	John Gibney	C
329	BAL	Bruce Allen	P
330	RAM	Gus Coppens	T
331	MIA	Mike Moore	RB
332	OAK	Joe Conron	WR
333	MIA	Bill Kenney	QB
334	DAL	Lee Washburn	G

The above information is courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com.

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