The St. Louis Rams, as the team with the worst record during the 2009 season, selected quarterback Sam Bradford with the first pick.

This matches the average percentage of combine participants among draftees over the past ten years.

[7][8][9][10] Eligible underclassmen projected as top NFL prospects risked losing millions of contractually-guaranteed dollars if they did not declare for the draft the year before a new CBA could be reached.

[12] For the second time in draft history, the first two players selected were named Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Year, respectively.

Three coin tosses were necessary to establish the final selection order: Jacksonville, Tennessee, and Atlanta won their flips over Denver, Carolina, and Houston, respectively.