NFL Streamlines Draft Process

Blogging the National Football League, Blogging the NFL

The National Football League announced several great revisions to the NFL Draft to streamline the selection process for clubs and fans. These changes were finalized at the league meeting in Philadelphia today.

• Beginning with the 2008 NFL Draft, only Rounds 1-2 will take place on Saturday (April 26), the first day of the Draft. Previously, the first three rounds of the Draft were conducted on Saturday.
• The time allocated for each club to make its selection in Rounds 1-2 — and this is the biggest and best change — has been reduced from 15 minutes to 10 minutes. In Round 2, the selection time has been shortened from 10 minutes to seven minutes. The Draft has been dragging for years and this will really make the entire process more exciting and fast-paced.
• The Draft will also begin later on Saturday — at 3 p.m. ET rather than at noon.
• Round 3 will be moved to Sunday and remain at five minutes per selection. Rounds 4-7 will be conducted on Sunday, with each selection allocated at five minutes. Also, Sunday’s proceedings will begin at 10 a.m. ET rather than 11:00.

The 2008 NFL Draft will be conducted on Saturday and Sunday, April 26-27 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Yes, I’ll be there. Check out my on-location coverage from the 2007 NFL Draft — Arrival in NYC, Fan Central, JaMarcus Russell, and First Round Recap.