The received a priority pick at the end of the first round (pick 19) after a request by the club to the AFL commission was accepted. It was the first time a priority pick was given to a club since the rules regarding priority selections were changed in 2012. This pick was later on-traded to as part of the
Pearce Hanley trade to , A change was made to the rules concerning academy and father-son selections which allowed clubs to begin the draft with only as many draft picks as it had empty positions on its playing list. This was intended to end the practice which had taken place the previous year in which clubs with academies had traded down the draft order to accumulate a large number of mid- and low-range draft picks specifically to use on academy bids. :
Final draft order ; Notes • Free agency compensation picks are additional selections awarded to teams based on their net loss of players during the free agency trade period. • Academy players are local zone selections available to the four New South Wales and Queensland clubs. Both academy and father-son selections are subject to a bidding process, where the club with the family or academy connection must match any opposition club's bid with their next available selection.
Rookie elevations Clubs were able to promote any player who was listed on their
rookie list in 2016 to their 2017 primary playing list prior to the draft. ==2017 rookie draft==