| 1976 NFL expansion draft | |
| Sport: | American football |
| Date: | March 30–31, 1976 |
| League: | NFL |
| Prev: | 1967 |
| Next: | 1995 |
| Expansion Teams: | Seattle Seahawks Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| Expansion Season: | 1976 |
The 1976 National Football League (NFL) expansion draft was held March 30–31, 1976. The expansion teams, the Seattle Seahawks and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, each selected 39 players from the other 26 NFL teams. Before the draft, each of the existing NFL teams was allowed to protect 29 players from selection by the expansion teams. When one player was chosen from an existing team, that team was then permitted to protect two additional players. The expansion teams continued until three players had been picked from each of the existing teams.[1]
The expansion draft was originally scheduled for January 23–24, but was postponed when the owners of the Seahawks and Buccaneers filed a lawsuit against the players' union with worries that the organization would try to prevent the draft. The court case delayed both the expansion draft and the annual college draft.[2]
| width=25% style=";" | Player ! | width=25% style=";" | Position ! | width=25% style=";" | College ! | width=25% style=";" | Original NFL team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Larry Ball | LB | Louisville | Detroit Lions | ||||
| Joe Blahak | DB | Nebraska | Minnesota Vikings | ||||
| Bubba Bridges | DT | Colorado | Denver Broncos | ||||
| Bubba Broussard | LB | Houston | Chicago Bears | ||||
| Louis Carter | RB | Maryland | Oakland Raiders | ||||
| Steve Colavito | LB | Wake Forest | Philadelphia Eagles | ||||
| Mark Cotney | DB | Cameron State | Houston Oilers | ||||
| Mike Current | OT | Ohio State | Denver Broncos | ||||
| Anthony Davis | RB | USC | New York Jets | ||||
| Ricky Davis | DB | Alabama | Cincinnati Bengals | ||||
| Earl Douthitt | DB | Iowa | Chicago Bears | ||||
| Bruce Elia | LB | Ohio State | Miami Dolphins | ||||
| Larry Ely | LB | Iowa | Chicago Bears | ||||
| Howard Fest | OG | Texas | Cincinnati Bengals | ||||
| Ira Gordon | OG | Kansas State | San Diego Chargers | ||||
| Jimmy Gunn | LB | USC | New York Giants | ||||
| Harold Hart | RB | Texas Southern | Oakland Raiders | ||||
| Durwood Keeton | DB | Oklahoma | New England Patriots | ||||
| Jim Kearney | DB | Prairie View | Kansas City Chiefs | ||||
| Vince Kendrick | RB | Florida | Atlanta Falcons | ||||
| Morris LaGrand | RB | Tampa | New Orleans Saints | ||||
| Willie McGee | WR | Alcorn State | Los Angeles Rams | ||||
| John (J.K.) McKay | WR | USC | Cleveland Browns | ||||
| Bob Moore | TE | Stanford | Oakland Raiders | ||||
| Manfred Moore | RB | USC | San Francisco 49ers | ||||
| Frank Oliver | DB | Kentucky State | Buffalo Bills | ||||
| Dave Pear | DT | Washington | Baltimore Colts | ||||
| Cal Peterson | LB | UCLA | Dallas Cowboys | ||||
| Dave Reavis | OT | Arkansas | Pittsburgh Steelers | ||||
| Council Rudolph | DE | Kentucky State | St. Louis Cardinals | ||||
| Dan Ryczek | C | Virginia | Washington Redskins | ||||
| Barry Smith | WR | Florida State | Green Bay Packers | ||||
| Ken Stone | DB | Vanderbilt | Washington Redskins | ||||
| Doug Swift | LB | Amherst | Miami Dolphins | ||||
| Dave Thompson | OT-C | Clemson | New Orleans Saints | ||||
| Pat Toomay | DE | Vanderbilt | Buffalo Bills | ||||
| John Ward | C-OG | Oklahoma State | Minnesota Vikings | ||||
| Lawrence Williams | WR | Texas Tech | Kansas City Chiefs | ||||
| Dan Yochum | OT | Syracuse | Philadelphia Eagles |