The 1961 National Football League draft took place at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on December 27–28, 1960. The league would later hold an expansion draft for the Minnesota Vikings expansion franchise, and the Vikings were also awarded the first selection position in this draft. This draft was also the first regular draft for the Dallas Cowboys as they had only participated in the 1960 NFL expansion draft that year. The Cowboys held the worst record in the NFL the previous season, but selected second in this draft because of the entry of the Vikings into the league.
The 1942 National Football League draft was held on December 22, 1941, at the Palmer House Hotel
in Chicago, Illinois.
The 1938 National Football League draft was held on December 12, 1937, at the Hotel Sherman in Chicago, Illinois. The draft consisted of 12 rounds and 110 player selections. It began with the Cleveland Rams, taking Corbett Davis.
The 1966 National Football League draft was held at the Summit Hotel in New York City on Saturday, November 27, 1965.
The expansion Atlanta Falcons were awarded the first pick in each round as well as the final pick in each of the first five rounds. The first overall selection was Tommy Nobis, a linebacker from Texas. The league also provided the Falcons with an expansion draft six weeks later.
This was the last draft in which the NFL and the AFL selected their players separate of one another. As a result, most players drafted by teams from both leagues chose to play for the more established NFL, but not all. Similar to 1965, the AFL draft was held on the same day. After the merger agreement in June 1966, a common draft was held in March 1967.