The 10 NFL Draft Classes With The Highest Number Of Hall Of Famers

There are a number of different statistics you can turn to when trying to figure out which NFL Draft class boasted the highest level of talent. That includes the number of players who’ve ended up enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and there are some groups that really stand out from the pack on that particular front.

These are the NFL Draft classes that had the most players who ended up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame

The 1983 NFL Draft class is one of the first ones to spring to mind when it comes to the overall level of talent on the board that year. It included a stacked cast of quarterbacks including John Elway, Dan Marino, and Jim Kelly, as well as some other difference makers like Richard Dent and Eric Dickerson.

It featured nine guys who’ve been immortalized in Canton after being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which puts it near the top of the list when it comes to the classes with the most players who’ve earned the right to don the gold jacket, one that also includes…

1952: 7 Players

• Bobby Dillon
  • S, 28th overall pick by the Packers
• Frank Gifford
  • HB, 11th overall pick by the Giants
• Yale Lary
  • DB, 34th overall pick by the Lions
• Gino Marchetti
  • DE, 14th overall pick by the New York Yanks
• Ollie Matson
  • HB, 3rd overall pick by the Chicago Cardinals
• Hugh McElhenny
  • HB, 9th overall pick by the 49ers
• Les Richter
  • LB, 2nd overall pick by the Yanks

1953: 7 Players

• Doug Atkins
  • DB, 11th overall pick by the Browns
• Roosevelt “Rosey” Brown
  • T, 321st overall pick by the Giants
• John Henry Johnson
  • FB, 18th overall pick by the Steelers
• Stan Jones
  • G/DT, 54th overall pick by the Bears
• Jim Ringo
  • C, 79th overall pick by the Packers
• Joe Schmidt
  • LB, 85th overall pick by the Giants
• Bob St. Clair
  • T, 32nd overall pick by the 49ers

1961: 7 Players

• Herb Adderley
  • HB, 12th overall pick by the Packers
• Mike Ditka
  • TE, 5th overall pick by the Bears
• Jimmy Johnson (not to be confused with the coach of the same name)
  • CB, 6th overall pick by the 49ers
• David “Deacon” Jones
  • DE, 186th overall pick by the Rams
• Bob Lilly
  • DT, 13th overall pick by the Cowboys
• Billy Shaw
  • G, 184th overall pick by the Cowboys (and 9th overall by the Bills in the AFL Draft)
• Fran Tarkenton
  • 29th overall by the Vikings

1981: 7 Players

• Kenny Easley
  • S, 4th overall pick by the Seahawks
• Russ Grimm
  • G, 69th overall pick by Washington
• Rickey Jackson
  • LB, 51st overall pick by the Saints
• Howie Long
  • DE, 48th overall pick by the Raiders
• Ronnie Lott
  • DB, 8th overall pick by the 49ers
• Mike Singletary
  • LB, 38th overall pick by the Bears
• Lawrence Taylor
  • LB, 2nd overall pick by the Giants

1988: 7 Players

• Eric Allen
  • CB, 30th overall pick by the Eagles
• Tim Brown
  • WR, 6th overall pick by the Raiders
• Dermontti Dawson
  • C, 44th overall pick by the Steelers
• Michael Irvin
  • WR, 11th overall pick by the Cowboys
• Randall McDaniel
  • G, 19th overall pick by the Vikings
• Sterling Sharpe
  • WR, 7th overall pick by the Packers
• Thurman Thomas
  • RB, 40th overall pick by the Bills

1967: 8 Players

• Lem Barney
  • CB, 34th overall pick by the Lions
• Bob Griese
  • QB, 4th overall pick by the Dolphins
• Ken Houston
  • S, 214th overall pick by the Houston Oilers
• Willie Lanier
  • LB, 50th overall pick by the Saints
• Floyd Little
  • RB, 6th overall pick by the Broncos
• Alan Page
  • DT, 15th overall pick by the Vikings
• Gene Upshaw
  • G, 17th overall pick by the Raiders
• Rayfield Wright
  • T, 182nd overall pick by the Cowboys

1968: 8 Players

• Elvin Bethea
  • DE, 77th overall pick by the Oilers
• Larry Csonka
  • FB, 8th overall pick by the Dolphins
• Curley Culp
  • DT, 31st overall pick by the Broncos
• Claude Humphrey
  • DE, 3rd overall pick by the Falcons
• Charlie Sanders
  • TE, 74th overall pick by the Lions
• Art Shell
  • T, 80th overall pick by the Raiders
• Ken Stabler
  • QB, 52nd overall pick by the Raiders
• Ron Yary
  • T, 1st overall pick by the Vikings

1957: 9 Players

• Jim Brown
  • FB, 6th overall pick by the Browns
• Len Dawson
  • QB, 5th overall pick by the Steelers
• Gene Hickerson
  • G, 78th overall pick by the Browns
• Paul Hornung
  • HB, 1st overall pick by the Packers
• Henry Jordan
  • DT, 52nd overall pick by the Browns
• Sonny Jurgensen
  • QB, 43rd overall pick by the Eagles
• Don Maynard
  • WR,  109th overall pick by the Giants
• Tommy McDonald
  • WR, 31st overall pick by the Eagles
• Jim Parker
  • T/G, 8th overall pick by the Baltimore Colts

1983: 9 Players

• Jimbo Covert
  • T, 6th overall pick by the Bears
• Roger Craig
  • RB, 49th overall pick by the 49ers
• Richard Dent
  • DE, 203rd overall pick by the Bears
• Eric Dickerson
  • RB, 2nd overall pick by the Rams
• John Elway
  • QB, 1st overall pick by the Baltimore Colts
• Darrell Green
  • CB, 28th overall pick by Washington
• Jim Kelly
  • QB, 14th overall pick by the Bills
• Dan Marino
  • QB, 27th overall pick by the Dolphins
• Bruce Matthew
  • OL, 9th overall pick by the Oilers

1964: 10 Players*

• Bob Brown
  • T, 2nd overall pick by the Eagles
• Carl Eller
  • DE, 6th overall pick by the Vikings
• Bob Hayes
  • WR, 88th overall pick by the Cowboys
• Leroy Kelly
  • RB, 110th overall pick by the Browns
• Paul Krause
  • S, 18th overall pick by Washington
• Mel Renfro
  • DB, 17th overall pick by the Cowboys
• Roger Staubach
  • 129th overall pick by the Cowboys
• Charley Taylor
  • WR, 3rd overall pick by Washington
• Paul Warfield
  • WR, 11th overall pick by the Browns
• Dave Wilcox
  • LB, 29th overall pick by the 49ers

*Bill Parcells was also drafted by the Lions with the 89th overall pick, but he quit football during training camp before playing a single game prior to embarking on the coaching career that landed him in Canton