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ESPN staff
The early rounds of the NFL draft are often seen as the most important, dealing with the top-ranked prospects. A plethora of well-known Pro Football Hall of Famers arose from those early picks, including notable names such as Troy Aikman, Barry Sanders and John Elway.
But history has shown that greatness can come from unexpected places. A number of Hall of Famers have come from late rounds of the draft or even went undrafted.
Here is a list of all of the late-round draft picks who have made it into the Pro Football Hall of Fame starting, with Round 22 all the way to Round 7. We also have a list of the undrafted free agents in the Hall of Fame:
Round 22
Roosevelt Brown, T, New York Giants
Round 21
John Madden, T, Philadelphia Eagles
Round 20
Raymond Berry, E, Baltimore Colts
Round 19
Andy Robustelli, DE, Los Angeles Rams
Round 18
Chris Hanburger, LB, Washington
Round 17
Arnie Weinmeister, E, Brooklyn Tigers
Bart Starr, QB, Green Bay Packers
Round 15
Willie Davis, DE, Cleveland Browns
Round 14
David “Deacon” Jones, DE, Los Angeles Rams
Round 13
Nick Buoniconti, LB, Boston Patriots
Round 12
Dante Lavelli, E, Los Angeles Rams
George Blanda, QB, Chicago Bears
Round 11
Tom Fears, E, Cleveland Rams
Round 10
Jackie Smith, TE, St. Louis Cardinals
Roger Staubach, QB, Dallas Cowboys
Round 9
Dan Fortmann, G, Chicago Bears
Tony Canadeo, HB, Green Bay Packers
Johnny Unitas, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers
Don Maynard, WR-HB, New York Giants
Ken Houston, S, Houston Oilers
Round 8
Wayne Millner, E, Boston
Leroy Kelly, RB, Cleveland Browns
Richard Dent, DE, Chicago Bears
Round 7
Jim Ringo, C, Green Bay Packers
Joe Schmidt, LB, Detroit Lions
Gene Hickerson, G, Cleveland Browns
Bobby Mitchell, HB, Cleveland Browns
Larry Wilson, DB, St. Louis Cardinals
Bobby Bell, LB, Dallas Texans
Bob Hayes, WR, Dallas Cowboys
Rayfield Wright, T, Dallas Cowboys
Harold Carmichael, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
Shannon Sharpe, TE, Denver Broncos
Undrafted
Ed Sprinkle, DE, Chicago Bears
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Draft year: 1944
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HOF induction year: 2020
Frank Gatski, C, Cleveland Browns
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Draft year: 1946
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HOF induction year: 1985
Lou Groza, T/K, Cleveland Browns
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Draft year: 1946
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HOF induction year: 1974
Marion Motley, FB, Cleveland Browns
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Draft year: 1946
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HOF induction year: 1968
Bill Willis, MG, Cleveland Browns
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Draft year: 1946
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HOF induction year: 1977
Joe Perry, FB, San Francisco 49ers
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Draft year: 1948
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HOF induction year: 1969
Emlen Tunnell, S, New York Giants
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Draft year: 1948
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HOF induction year: 1967
Jack Butler, CB, Pittsburgh Steelers
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Draft year: 1951
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HOF induction year: 2012
Dick “Night Train” Lane, CB, Los Angeles Rams
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Draft year: 1952
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HOF induction year: 1974
Willie Wood, S, Green Bay Packers
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Draft year: 1960
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HOF induction year: 1989
Mick Tingelhoff, C, Minnesota Vikings
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Draft year: 1962
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HOF induction year: 2015
Willie Brown, CB, Houston Oilers
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Draft year: 1963
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HOF induction year: 1984
Emmitt Thomas, CB, Kansas City Chiefs
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Draft year: 1966
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HOF induction year: 2008
Larry Little, G, San Diego Chargers
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Draft year: 1967
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HOF induction year: 1993
Cliff Harris, S, Dallas Cowboys
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Draft year: 1970
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HOF induction year: 2020
Jim Langer, C, Cleveland Browns
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Draft year: 1970
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HOF induction year: 1987
Drew Pearson, WR, Dallas Cowboys
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Draft year: 1973
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HOF induction year: 2021
Donnie Shell, S, Pittsburgh Steelers
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Draft year: 1974
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HOF induction year: 2020
Warren Moon, QB, Houston Oilers
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Draft year: 1984
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HOF induction year: 2006
Sam Mills, LB, New Orleans Saints
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Draft year: 1986
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HOF induction year: 2022
John Randle, DT, Minnesota Vikings
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Draft year: 1990
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HOF induction year: 2010
Kurt Warner, QB, St. Louis Rams
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Draft year: 1998
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HOF induction year: 2017
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