The 1997 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 19–20, 1997. No teams elected to claim any players in the supplemental draft that year.

This draft was notable for its high-profile offensive linemen. The first overall selection was Orlando Pace, who has appeared in seven consecutive Pro Bowls from 2000 to 2006. Tarik Glenn was selected 19th overall and has been named to three Pro Bowls as well. Arguably the best of the bunch, Walter Jones, who made nine Pro Bowls (including eight consecutive from 2001-08) and was a seven time All-Pro, was selected 6th overall. Others include Chris Naeole, Dan Neil, Ryan Tucker, Jeff Mitchell, Mike Flynn, and Joe Andruzzi.

The '97 Draft is also well known for its running backs. Warrick Dunn was drafted 12th overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and rushed for over 10,000 yards in his career. Corey Dillon, Tiki Barber, Antowain Smith, Priest Holmes, and Duce Staley all enjoyed productive seasons in the NFL.

The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League (NFL) teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is that each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order relative its record in the previous year—the last place gets positioned first. With this position, the team can either select a player or trade their position to another team for other positions, a player, or players, or any combination thereof. After each team had utilized its position in the drafting order, whether by trading it or selecting a player, a round would be complete. Certain aspects of the draft, including team positioning and the number of rounds in the draft, have seen revisions since its first creation in 1936, but the fundamental methodology has remained the same. The original rationale in creating the draft was to increase the competitive parity between the teams as the worst team would, idealistically, have chosen the best player available.

Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976) is an American football quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Indianapolis Colts for 14 seasons from 1998–2011. He is the son of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning and an elder brother of New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning.

Manning played college football at the University of Tennessee, leading the Volunteers to the 1997 SEC Championship in his senior season. He was chosen by the Indianapolis Colts with the first overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft. From 1998 to 2010, he led the Colts to seven AFC South division championships, two AFC championships, and to a Super Bowl championship (Super Bowl XLI). He has won a record four league most valuable player awards, was the most valuable player of Super Bowl XLI, has been named to eleven Pro Bowls, has eleven 4,000-yard passing seasons (including a record six straight), and is the Indianapolis Colts' all-time leader in passing yards (54,828) and touchdown passes (399). In 2009, he was named the best player in the NFL and Fox Sports along with Sports Illustrated named him the NFL player of the decade of the 2000s.

Jamael Orondé "Rondé" Barber (born April 7, 1975) is an American football cornerback/safety for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Buccaneers in the third round of the 1997 NFL Draft. He played college football at Virginia.

Barber attended Cave Spring High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and was a standout in football, wrestling, and track. In football, he was a three time All-District selection. In track, he won the national title in the 55-meter hurdles as a senior.

Drafted in the third round pick of the 1997 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers out of the University of Virginia. His brother Tiki was also drafted the same year, but went a round earlier than Ronde to the New York Giants. In his first season with the Bucs, Barber was unable to force his way into the lineup and played little, making a rare appearance in one game in the 1997 season (he did earn the nickel back job in the playoffs). However, Barber had clearly made an impression on the then Bucs Head Coach Tony Dungy, and in his second season Barber started nine games, recording 81 tackles, 3 sacks, and 2 interceptions. On November 25, 2007, he took the record from Donnie Abraham for the most interceptions in Buccaneers team history by catching his 32nd against the Washington Redskins. He is the longest-tenured member of the team. He is the active leader in consecutive starts for a non-kicker, and is tied with London Fletcher for consecutive games played for a non-kicker.

David Brian Rimington (born May 22, 1960) is a former American college and professional football player who was a center in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons during the 1980s. Rimington played college football for the University of Nebraska, where he was two-time consensus All-American and received several awards recognizing him as the best college lineman in the country. He was selected in the first round of the 1983 NFL Draft, and played professionally for the Cincinnati Bengals and Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL. Rimington is the namesake of the Rimington Trophy, which is awarded annually to the nation's top collegiate center.

Rimington attended the University of Nebraska where he was a consensus First-Team All-America in 1981 and 1982. In 1981, he was named the UPI Big Eight Player-of-the-Year and the AP Big Eight Offensive Player of the Year, the only time in Big Eight Conference history that a lineman was so honored. In 1982, he was the Big Eight (all sports) Athlete of the Year, the UPI National Lineman of the year, and an NCAA Top Five winner.