Melbourne opened the trade/draft season with a bang, stealing Mitch Clark from under Fremantle's nose just as it seemed that the Dockers were a certainty of bringing him back home. Despite a late bid for Gold Coast youngster Josh Caddy, Melbourne's only other trade involved sending defender Matthew Warnock to the Gold Coast.
With draft concessions for Greater Western Sydney, compensation picks for teams who had lost players to Gold Coast and the trade of their first selection to Brisbane, Melbourne went into the draft with the latest first pick in their history. The previous longest that they had to wait was in 1989 when Paul Rouvray was picked at selection #25.
It was another disappointing draft season for the Demons, with only recycled Crow James Sellar playing more than two games.
| Received | From | Exchange | |
| Mitch Clark | Brisbane Lions | Pick 12 (Sam Docherty) | |
| Pick 52 | Gold Coast | Matthew Warnock | |
2011 AFL National Draft
| Selection | Player | From | Games |
| 36 | Rory Taggert | North Ballarat | 0 |
| 52 | Josh Tynan | Gippsland Power | 2 |
| 54 | James Sellar | Adelaide | 23 |
2011 AFL Pre-Season Draft
No selections
2011 AFL Rookie Draft
| Selection | Player | From | Games |
| 6 | Jai Sheahan | Geelong Falcons | 0 |
| 24 | Tom Couch | Collingwood VFL | 3 |
| 42 | James Magner | Sandringham Zebras | 19 |
| 59 | Leigh Williams | Norwood | 0 |