The “Everything You Need To Know” Guide To The 2013 NFL Draft

For NFL junkies, today is like Christmas Eve! Only one long night away from the 2013 NFL Draft, where each team will get handful of new toys to help build the franchise. By now, most have likely gotten the hang of the “new” draft, which moved to prime time a couple of years ago. However, for those who haven’t, or for those who need a little brush-up, here is everything you need to know about the 2013 NFL Draft…

Where?

All seven rounds of the 2013 NFL Draft will be televised on the NFL Network, as well as ESPN/ ESPN2. That means, for everyone that doesn’t have the NFL Network, you can still watch every pick from every team on EPSN!

If you can’t make it to a television, there are some other options for watching the draft.  There will be a live stream on all three days of the draft on NFL.com Live, that “provides comprehensive coverage of the 2013 NFL Draft from Radio City Music Hall.”

When?

The 1st round of the 2013 NFL draft will begin at 8:00 PM ET on Thursday, April 25. In 2012, the 1st round took around three hours. Thus, the coverage is expect to conclude on Thursday by approximately 11:15 PM ET.

The 2nd and 3rd rounds will start at 6:30 PM ET, Friday, April 26. In 2012, the 2nd and 3rd rounds took around three hours and 45 minutes. So, the coverage on Friday should end by approximately 10:30 PM ET.

The 4th through the 7th rounds will start at 12:00 noon ET on Saturday, April 27. The draft will conclude by approximately 7:30 PM ET on Saturday with the final four rounds. For reference, in 2012, the 4th through 7th rounds took  seven hours and 17 minutes.

Time Limits?

In order to move the draft along at a reasonable pace, their are certain time restrictions for each pick, depending on the round. In the 1st round, each team will have 10 minutes to make their pick. In the 2nd round, the teams will have 7 minutes to make their choice. And, in the 3rd through 7th rounds, teams will get only 5 minutes per pick.

Anything else?

Outside of the time of the draft and where you can watch it, there isn’t too much more to cover. However, here are some additional, random facts about the 2013 NFL Draft…

•  The St. Louis Rams (via Washington), Minnesota Vikings (via Seattle), and New York Jets (via Tampa Bay) will all have two 1st round picks in this draft.
• There are 254 total selections in the NFL Draft, the last of which is deemed “Mr. Irrelevant,” and is given an award package.
• 23 players will attend this year’s draft, including four players from the University of Alabama and four players from Florida State.
• There are only five offensive “skill position” players attending the draft: 2 quarterbacks (Geno Smith, E.J. Manuel), 2 wide receivers (Tavon Austin, Cordarrelle Patterson), and 1 running back (Eddie Lacy)
• Each team will have a “special guest” announce their 2nd round draft selection. For the St. Louis Rams, the player is Orlando Pace!