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Late-round, undrafted NFL players in Hall of Fame: Lowest-drafted stars

The early rounds of the NFL draft are often seen as the most important, dealing with the top-ranked prospects and players who can make an instant impact. 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

  • Draft year: 1953 (No. 232)

  • HOF induction year: 1975


Round 21

John Madden, T, Philadelphia Eagles

  • Draft year: 1958 (No. 244)

  • HOF induction year: 2006 (Coach)


Round 20

Raymond Berry, E, Baltimore Colts

  • Draft year: 1954 (No. 232)

  • HOF induction year: 1973


Round 19

Andy Robustelli, DE, Los Angeles Rams

  • Draft year: 1951 (No. 228)

  • HOF induction year: 1971


Round 18

Chris Hanburger, LB, Washington

  • Draft year: 1965 (No. 245)

  • HOF induction year: 2011


Round 17

Arnie Weinmeister, E, Brooklyn Tigers

  • Draft year: 1945 (No. 166)

  • HOF induction year: 1984

Bart Starr, QB, Green Bay Packers

  • Draft year: 1956 (No. 200)

  • HOF induction year: 1977


Round 15

Willie Davis, DE, Cleveland Browns

  • Draft year: 1956 (No. 181)

  • HOF induction year: 1981


Round 14

David "Deacon" Jones, DE, Los Angeles Rams

  • Draft year: 1961 (No. 186)

  • HOF induction year: 1980


Round 13

Nick Buoniconti, LB, Boston Patriots

  • Draft year: 1962 (No. 102)

  • HOF induction year: 2001


Round 12

Dante Lavelli, E, Los Angeles Rams

  • Draft year: 1947 (No. 103)

  • HOF induction year: 1975

George Blanda, QB, Chicago Bears

  • Draft year: 1949 (No. 119)

  • HOF induction year: 1981


Round 11

Tom Fears, E, Cleveland Rams

  • Draft year: 1945 (No. 103)

  • HOF induction year: 1970


Round 10

Jackie Smith, TE, St. Louis Cardinals

  • Draft year: 1963 (No. 129)

  • HOF induction year: 1994

Roger Staubach, QB, Dallas Cowboys

  • Draft year: 1964 (No. 129)

  • HOF induction year: 1985


Round 9

Dan Fortmann, G, Chicago Bears

  • Draft year: 1936 (No. 78)

  • HOF induction year: 1965

Tony Canadeo, HB, Green Bay Packers

  • Draft year: 1941 (No. 77)

  • HOF induction year: 1974

Johnny Unitas, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Draft year: 1955 (No. 102)

  • HOF induction year: 1979

Don Maynard, WR-HB, New York Giants

  • Draft year: 1957 (No. 109)

  • HOF induction year: 1987

Ken Houston, S, Houston Oilers

  • Draft year: 1967 (No. 214)

  • HOF induction year: 1986


Round 8

Wayne Millner, E, Boston

  • Draft year: 1936 (No. 65)

  • HOF induction year: 1968

Leroy Kelly, RB, Cleveland Browns

  • Draft year: 1964 (No. 110)

  • HOF induction year: 1994

Richard Dent, DE, Chicago Bears

  • Draft year: 1983 (No. 203)

  • HOF induction year: 2011


Round 7

Jim Ringo, C, Green Bay Packers

  • Draft year: 1953 (No. 79)

  • HOF induction year: 1981

Joe Schmidt, LB, Detroit Lions

  • Draft year: 1953 (No. 85)

  • HOF induction year: 1973

Gene Hickerson, G, Cleveland Browns

  • Draft year: 1957 (No. 78)

  • HOF induction year: 2007

Bobby Mitchell, HB, Cleveland Browns

  • Draft year: 1958 (No. 84)

  • HOF induction year: 1983

Larry Wilson, DB, St. Louis Cardinals

  • Draft year: 1960 (No. 74)

  • HOF induction year: 1978

Bobby Bell, LB, Dallas Texans

  • Draft year: 1963 (No. 56)

  • HOF induction year: 1983

Bob Hayes, WR, Dallas Cowboys

  • Draft year: 1964 (No. 88)

  • HOF induction year: 2009

Rayfield Wright, T, Dallas Cowboys

  • Draft year: 1967 (No. 182)

  • HOF induction year: 2006

Harold Carmichael, WR, Philadelphia Eagles

  • Draft year: 1971 (No. 161)

  • HOF induction year: 2020

Shannon Sharpe, TE, Denver Broncos

  • Draft year: 1990 (No. 192)

  • HOF induction year: 2011


Undrafted

Ed Sprinkle, DE, Chicago Bears

  • Draft year: 1944

  • HOF induction year: 2020

Frank Gatski, C, Cleveland Browns

  • Draft year: 1946

  • HOF induction year: 1985

Lou Groza, T/K, Cleveland Browns

  • Draft year: 1946

  • HOF induction year: 1974

Marion Motley, FB, Cleveland Browns

  • Draft year: 1946

  • HOF induction year: 1968

Bill Willis, MG, Cleveland Browns

  • Draft year: 1946

  • HOF induction year: 1977

Joe Perry, FB, San Francisco 49ers

  • Draft year: 1948

  • HOF induction year: 1969

Emlen Tunnell, S, New York Giants

  • Draft year: 1948

  • HOF induction year: 1967

Jack Butler, CB, Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Draft year: 1951

  • HOF induction year: 2012

Dick "Night Train" Lane, CB, Los Angeles Rams

  • Draft year: 1952

  • HOF induction year: 1974

Willie Wood, S, Green Bay Packers

  • Draft year: 1960

  • HOF induction year: 1989

Mick Tingelhoff, C, Minnesota Vikings

  • Draft year: 1962

  • HOF induction year: 2015

Willie Brown, CB, Houston Oilers

  • Draft year: 1963

  • HOF induction year: 1984

Emmitt Thomas, CB, Kansas City Chiefs

  • Draft year: 1966

  • HOF induction year: 2008

Larry Little, G, San Diego Chargers

  • Draft year: 1967

  • HOF induction year: 1993

Cliff Harris, S, Dallas Cowboys

  • Draft year: 1970

  • HOF induction year: 2020

Jim Langer, C, Cleveland Browns

  • Draft year: 1970

  • HOF induction year: 1987

Drew Pearson, WR, Dallas Cowboys

  • Draft year: 1973

  • HOF induction year: 2021

Donnie Shell, S, Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Draft year: 1974

  • HOF induction year: 2020

Warren Moon, QB, Houston Oilers

  • Draft year: 1984

  • HOF induction year: 2006

Sam Mills, LB, New Orleans Saints

  • Draft year: 1986

  • HOF induction year: 2022

John Randle, DT, Minnesota Vikings

  • Draft year: 1990

  • HOF induction year: 2010

Kurt Warner, QB, St. Louis Rams

  • Draft year: 1998

  • HOF induction year: 2017