Five quarterbacks were selected in the first round — Tim Couch, Donovan McNabb, Akili Smith, Daunte Culpepper, and Cade McNown — the second highest amount (along with the 2018 and 2021 drafts) after the six selected in 1983 and 2024.

Only McNabb and Culpepper would have successful careers, while Couch, Smith, and McNown are generally regarded as draft busts.

In addition to the quarterback selections, the draft is known for the Ricky Williams trade, which saw the New Orleans Saints trade all six of their draft picks to the Washington Redskins to select running back Ricky Williams fifth overall.

New Orleans finished with a 3–13 record following the trade and Williams struggled as a rookie, resulting in the firing of Saints head coach Mike Ditka and general manager Bill Kuharich.

The following is the breakdown of the 253 players selected by position: In the explanations below, (PD) indicates trades completed prior to the start of the draft (i.e. Pre-Draft), while (D) denotes trades that took place during the 1999 draft.