The 1956 National Football League draft had its first three rounds held on November 28, 1955, at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and its final twenty-seven rounds on January 17–18, 1956, at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California The previous NFL drafts in the 1950s were held in January; the first three rounds (37 selections) were moved up this year to late November to better compete with teams from Canada.