The 1981 NFL Draft: George Rogers and the Class of Seven Hall of Famers

The 1981 NFL Draft is often remembered for the Heisman-winning power of George Rogers, but looking back through the lens of history, it stands as arguably the greatest defensive infusion the league has ever seen. While one man took the top spot, seven others took a path that ended in Canton, Ohio.

The original cropped image was taken by Darin Hayes at AT&T Stadium in 2022.

Draft Storyline

April 29, 1981 – South Carolina’s George Rogers was the first pick by the New Orleans Saints in the NFL Draft after an outstanding college career. While Rogers had a solid pro career, his draft class included seven future Hall of Famers: Lawrence Taylor, Kenny Easley, Ronnie Lott, Mike Singletary, Howie Long, Rickey Jackson, and Russ Grimm.

Conclusion

The 1981 draft serves as a masterclass in scouting defensive longevity. While George Rogers delivered immediate dividends for the Saints—leading the league in rushing as a rookie—the true story of this class was written by the “Defensive Renaissance” it sparked. With legends like Lawrence Taylor and Ronnie Lott entering the league in the same cycle, the 1981 draft fundamentally changed how professional football was played on the defensive side of the ball for the next two decades.

Complete List of Players in the 1981 NFL Draft

Pick	Tm	Player	Pos
1	NOR	George Rogers	RB
2	NYG	Lawrence Taylor HOF	LB
3	NYJ	Freeman McNeil	RB
4	SEA	Kenny Easley HOF	DB
5	STL	E.J. Junior	LB
6	GNB	Rich Campbell	QB
7	TAM	Hugh Green	LB
8	SFO	Ronnie Lott HOF	DB
9	RAM	Mel Owens	LB
10	CIN	David Verser	WR
11	CHI	Keith Van Horne	T
12	BAL	Randy McMillan	RB
13	MIA	David Overstreet	RB
14	KAN	Willie Scott	TE
15	DEN	Dennis Smith	DB
16	DET	Mark Nichols	WR
17	PIT	Keith Gary	DE
18	BAL	Donnell Thompson	DE
19	NWE	Brian Holloway	T
20	WAS	Mark May	G
21	OAK	Ted Watts	DB
22	CLE	Hanford Dixon	DB
23	OAK	Curt Marsh	G
24	SDG	James Brooks	RB
25	ATL	Bobby Butler	DB
26	DAL	Howard Richards	G
27	PHI	Leonard Mitchell	DE
28	BUF	Booker Moore	RB
29	NOR	Russell Gary	DB
30	NYJ	Marion Barber Jr.	RB
31	SEA	David Hughes	RB
32	NYG	Dave Young	TE
33	STL	Neil Lomax	QB
34	TAM	James Wilder	RB
35	GNB	Gary Lewis	TE
36	SFO	John Harty	NT
37	CIN	Cris Collinsworth	WR
38	CHI	Mike Singletary HOF	LB
39	MIN	Mardye McDole	WR
40	SFO	Eric Wright	DB
41	KAN	Joe Delaney	RB
42	DEN	Clay Brown	TE
43	RAM	Jim Collins	LB
44	PIT	Anthony Washington	DB
45	MIN	Robin Sendlein	LB
46	DET	Curtis Green	DE
47	NWE	Tony Collins	RB
48	OAK	Howie Long HOF	DE
49	BUF	Chris Williams	DB
50	BUF	Byron Franklin	WR
51	NOR	Rickey Jackson HOF	LB
52	MIN	Jarvis Redwine	RB
53	DAL	Doug Donley	WR
54	ATL	Lyman White	LB
55	PHI	Dean Miraldi	T
56	MIA	Andra Franklin	RB
57	NOR	Frank Warren	DE
58	SEA	Bill Dugan	G
59	NYG	John Mistler	WR
60	NYJ	Ben Rudolph	DT
61	STL	Jeff Griffin	DB
62	GNB	Ray Stachowicz	P
63	RAM	Greg Meisner	NT
64	CIN	John Simmons	DB
65	SFO	Carlton Williamson	DB
66	RAM	Robert Cobb	DE
67	CHI	Ken Margerum	WR
68	BAL	Randy Van Divier	T
69	WAS	Russ Grimm HOF	G
70	KAN	Marvin Harvey	TE
71	NOR	Hoby Brenner	TE
72	DET	Don Greco	G
73	PIT	Rick Donnalley	C
74	MIN	Tim Irwin	T
75	KAN	Roger Taylor	T
76	BUF	Mike Mosley	WR
77	SDG	Irvin Phillips	DB
78	KAN	Lloyd Burruss	DB
79	HOU	Mike Holston	WR
80	ATL	Scott Woerner	DB
81	DAL	Glen Titensor	G
82	PHI	Greg LaFleur	TE
83	BUF	Robert Geathers	DT
84	MIA	Sam Greene	WR
85	NYG	Cliff Chatman	RB
86	NYJ	Al Washington	LB
87	SEA	Scott Phillips	WR
88	STL	Steve Rhodes	WR
89	TAM	John Holt	DB
90	WAS	Tom Flick	QB
91	DAL	Scott Pelluer	LB
92	CLE	Mike Robinson	DE
93	CIN	Guy Frazier	LB
94	BAL	Tim Sherwin	TE
95	CHI	Todd Bell	DB
96	MIA	Brad Wright	QB
97	KAN	Ron Washington	WR
98	DEN	Mark Herrmann	QB
99	DET	Tracy Porter	WR
100	PIT	Robbie Martin	WR
101	MIN	John Swain	DB
102	NWE	Don Blackmon	LB
103	SDG	Amos Lawrence	RB
104	RAM	George Lilja	G
105	GNB	Richard Turner	NT
106	HOU	Nick Eyre	T
107	SDG	Eric Sievers	TE
108	DAL	Derrie Nelson	LB
109	ATL	John Scully	G
110	PHI	Calvin Murray	RB
111	OAK	Johnny Robinson	NT
112	NOR	Louis Oubre	G
113	NYJ	Tyrone Keys	DE
114	SEA	Edwin Bailey	G
115	NYG	Bill Neill	NT
116	STL	John Gillen	LB
117	GNB	Byron Braggs	DE
118	OAK	James Davis	DB
119	WAS	Dexter Manley	DE
120	CIN	Benjie Pryor	TE
121	SFO	Lynn Thomas	DB
122	SFO	Arrington Jones	RB
123	MIN	Wendell Ray	DE
124	KAN	Todd Thomas	C
125	DEN	Ken Lanier	T
126	MIA	Ken Poole	DE
127	PIT	Ricky Martin	WR
128	NOR	Jerry Boyarsky	NT
129	DET	Larry Lee	G
130	NWE	Steve Clark	DE
131	SDG	Keith Ferguson	DE
132	WAS	Gary Sayre	G
133	HOU	Delbert Fowler	LB
134	CLE	Steve Cox	P
135	BUF	Calvin Clark	DE
136	ATL	Eric Sanders	T
137	DAL	Danny Spradlin	LB
138	MIA	Tommy Vigorito	RB
139	NOR	Nat Hudson	G
140	SEA	Steve Durham	DE
141	SDG	Andrew Gissinger	T
142	NYJ	John Woodring	LB
143	STL	Dave Ahrens	LB
144	NOR	Johnnie Poe	DB
145	NYG	Melvin Hoover	WR
146	CIN	Rex Robinson	K
147	SFO	Pete Kugler	NT
148	WAS	Larry Kubin	LB
149	BAL	Bubba Green	DT
150	CHI	Reuben Henderson	DB
151	DEN	Alvin Lewis	RB
152	MIA	Mack Moore	DE
153	KAN	Dock Luckie	DT
154	MIA	Fulton Walker	DB
155	DET	Sam Johnson	DB
156	PIT	Bryan Hinkle	LB
157	NWE	Ron Wooten	G
158	RAM	William Daniels	DT
159	HOU	Bill Kay	DB
160	CLE	Ron Simmons	DT
161	BUF	Robert Holt	WR
162	SDG	Bobby Duckworth	WR
163	DAL	Vince Skillings	DB
164	ATL	Harry Stanback	DE
165	NYG	Edward O’Neal	RB
166	NOR	Glen Redd	LB
167	NOR	Kevin Williams	WR
168	NYG	Louis Jackson	RB
169	NYJ	Kenny Neil	DE
170	SEA	Ron Johnson	WR
171	STL	Kevin Donnalley	DB
172	GNB	Bill Whitaker	DB
173	DAL	Ron Fellows	DB
174	PHI	Alan Duncan	K
175	RAM	Ron Battle	TE
176	CIN	Jeff Schuh	LB
177	CHI	Jeff Fisher	DB
178	BAL	Obed Ariri	K
179	MIA	Mike Daum	T
180	KAN	Billy Jackson	RB
181	DEN	Steve Busick	LB
182	DET	Lee Spivey	T
183	PIT	David Little	LB
184	MIN	Don Shaver	RB
185	NWE	Ken Toler	WR
186	SEA	Brad Scovill	TE
187	CLE	Eddie Johnson	LB
188	BUF	Steve Doolittle	LB
189	SDG	Pete Holohan	TE
190	RAM	Mike Clark	DE
191	DAL	Ken Miller	DB
192	PHI	Doak Field	LB
193	HOU	Don Washington	DB
194	NWE	Ken Naber	K
195	NYJ	Lloyd Jones	WR
196	SEA	Eric Lane	RB
197	NYG	John Powers	G
198	STL	Mike Fisher	WR
199	TAM	Denver Johnson	T
200	GNB	Larry Werts	LB
201	WAS	Charlie Brown	WR
202	CIN	Bobby Kemp	DB
203	SFO	Garry White	RB
204	BAL	Ken Sitton	DB
205	CHI	Scott Zettek	DT
206	KAN	David Dorn	WR
207	NYG	Mark Reed	QB
208	MIA	William Judson	DB
209	PIT	Frank Wilson	TE
210	MIN	Wade Wilson	QB
211	DET	Bob Niziolek	TE
212	NWE	Lin Dawson	TE
213	NYJ	J.C. Watts	DB
214	NOR	Gene Gladys	LB
215	NOR	Kevin Evans	DB
216	RAM	Art Plunkett	T
217	HOU	Willie Tullis	DB
218	DAL	Paul Piurowski	LB
219	ATL	Clifford Toney	DB
220	BAL	Hosea Taylor	DE
221	NYG	Billy Ard	G
222	NOR	Toussaint Tyler	RB
223	SEA	Jim Stone	RB
224	NYG	Byron Hunt	LB
225	NYJ	Admiral Dewey Larry	DB
226	STL	Stump Mitchell	RB
227	GNB	Tim Huffman	G
228	TAM	Mike Ford	QB
229	CIN	Jim Hannula	T
230	CIN	Samoa Samoa	RB
231	WAS	Darryl Grant	DT
232	CHI	Frank Ditta	G
233	BAL	Tim Gooch	DT
234	DEN	Rusty Olsen	DE
235	MIA	John Noonan	WR
236	SEA	Jim Whatley	WR
237	KAN	Anthony Vereen	DB
238	DET	Hugh Jernigan	DB
239	PIT	James Hunter	NT
240	DET	David Martin	DB
241	BUF	Robb Riddick	RB
242	RAM	Ron Seawell	LB
243	HOU	Avon Riley	LB
244	CLE	Randy Schleusener	G
245	ATL	Calvin Fance	RB
246	DAL	Mike Wilson	WR
247	PHI	Chuck Commiskey	G
248	OAK	Curt Mohl	T
249	NOR	Hokie Gajan	RB
250	NYG	Mike Barker	DT
251	NYJ	Marty Wetzel	LB
252	SEA	Ken Dawson	RB
253	STL	James Mallard	WR
254	TAM	Ken McCune	DE
255	GNB	Nickie Hall	QB
256	BAL	Gregg Gerken	LB
257	WAS	Phil Kessel	QB
258	CIN	Hubert Simpson	RB
259	BAL	Trent Bryant	DB
260	CHI	Tim Clifford	QB
261	MIA	Steve Folsom	TE
262	KAN	Les Studdard	C
263	STL	Jim Joiner	WR
264	DET	Andy Cannavino	LB
265	PIT	Mike Mayock	DB
266	MIN	James Murphy	WR
267	WAS	Allan Kennedy	T
268	SDG	Robert Parham	RB
269	RAM	Robert Alexander	RB
270	HOU	Larry Jones	RB
271	CLE	Dean Prater	DE
272	BUF	Justin Cross	T
273	DAL	Pat Graham	DT
274	ATL	Robert Murphy	DB
275	PHI	Hubie Oliver	RB
276	OAK	Frank Hawkins	RB
277	NOR	Lester Mickens	WR
278	NYJ	Ed Gall	DT
279	SEA	Lance Olander	RB
280	SDG	Matt Petrzelka	T
281	STL	Mike Sherrod	TE
282	GNB	Forrest Valora	LB
283	TAM	Johnny Ray Smith	DB
284	WAS	Jerry Hill	WR
285	CIN	Robert Jackson	DB
286	SFO	Ronnie DeBose	TE
287	CHI	Lonnie Johnson	RB
288	BAL	Holden Smith	WR
289	KAN	Frank Case	DE
290	DEN	Pat Walker	WR
291	MIA	Jim Jensen	WR
292	PIT	Rick Trocano	QB
293	MIN	Bill Stephanos	T
294	DET	Willie Jackson	DB
295	NWE	Brian Buckley	QB
296	RAM	Marcellus Greene	DB
297	HOU	Claude Mathews	G
298	CLE	Larry Friday	DB
299	BUF	Buster Barnett	TE
300	SDG	Carlos Bradley	LB
301	ATL	Keith Chappelle	WR
302	DAL	Tim Morrison	G
303	PHI	Gail Davis	T
304	OAK	Chester Willis	RB
305	NOR	Jim Wilks	DE
306	SEA	Jeff Bednarek	DT
307	NYG	Mike Maher	TE
308	NYJ	Mike Moeller	T
309	STL	Joe Adams	G
310	TAM	Brad White	NT
311	GNB	Cliff Lewis	LB
312	CIN	Mark O’Connell	QB
313	SFO	Major Ogilvie	RB
314	WAS	Clint Didier	TE
315	BAL	Eric Scoggins	LB
316	CHI	Bob Shupryt	LB
317	DEN	John Hankerd	LB
318	MIA	John Alford	DT
319	KAN	Bob Gagliano	QB
320	MIN	Brian Williams	TE
321	DEN	Mandel Robinson	RB
322	SFO	Joe Adams	QB
323	NWE	Cris Crissy	DB
324	HOU	Bill Capece	K
325	CLE	Kevin McGill	T
326	BUF	Keith Clark	LB
327	SDG	Stacy Charles	WR
328	RAM	Jairo Penaranda	RB
329	DAL	Nate Lundy	WR
330	ATL	Mark McCants	DB
331	PHI	Ray Ellis	DB
332	OAK	Phil Nelson	TE

The information above was provided by Por-Football-Reference.com.

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The 1981 NFL Draft: George Rogers and the Class of Seven Hall of Famers

Draft Storyline

Conclusion

Complete List of Players in the 1981 NFL Draft

By Darin