1976 Philadelphia Eagles

Off Season
After coaching #12 UCLA (8–2–1) in a win over #1 Ohio State (11–0) in the 1976 Rose Bowl by the score of 23–10 Dick Vermeil was offered the Head coaching job of the Philadelphia Eagles Vermiel's NFL head coaching career with the Philadelphia Eagles began before his first season. He decided to host open tryouts. Because of bad trades by past Eagles coaches, Vermeil did not have a 1st round draft pick until 1978, but Vermeil did big things with the talent he had inherited from previous coaches.

NFL Draft
The 1976 National Football League Draft was an annual player selection meeting held on April 8 – April 9, 1976. It lasted 17 rounds, with the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks making the first two selections. The expansion teams were also given a pair of extra picks at the end of each of rounds 2–5.

The Philadelphia Eagles would pick 9th in the 17 rounds. They still had to overcome the traded away draft picks of the Mike McCormack era.

The draft began with first overall pick of future Hall of Famer Lee Roy Selmon, Defensive End from Oklahoma, by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Eagles had to wait until the forth round and make a selection with the 111th pick.

Player Selections
The table shows the Eagles selections and what picks they had that were traded away and the team that ended up with that pick. It is possible the Eagles' pick ended up with this team via another team that the Eagles made a trade with. Not shown are acquired picks that the Eagles traded away.

Vincent Papale
Vincent Papale, at 6-feet 2-inches (1.88 m) and 195 pounds (88.5 kg), was a long shot to make the Eagles roster. At age 30, Papale became the oldest rookie in the history of the NFL to play without the benefit of college football experience (other than kickers). He went on to play wide receiver and special teams for the Eagles.

Papale, earned the nickname "Rocky" (after the 1976 Sylvester Stallone movie and character) while playing with the Eagles, is the subject of the Disney movie Invincible, starring Mark Wahlberg.