NFL Draft 2020 Primer: Start times, TV broadcasts, rules, first round order, & more

The 2020 NFL Draft is nearly here. The annual event is merely days away, and with it comes all of the excitement of the final and most impactful player acquisition phase of the NFL offseason.

This year’s draft is full of question marks, however — far more than the multitude that normally appear for the event. Some of those swirl around questionable decisions by the NFL to adjust the schedule at this year’s Scouting Combine, which are reportedly leading some teams to effectively ignoring the agility drill times from the event. Then there’s the lack of Pro Days and private visits or workouts, which was caused by the outbreak of COVID-19. That robbed teams of opportunities to scout players in person and let their own medical staffs evaluate prospects.

Finally, the big question is about the logistics of the draft itself. With the event going all-virtual, the personnel departments for the 32 NFL teams have found themselves in difficult positions. Stay-at-home orders across the country and from the NFL itself put all teams on a level playing field, with scouts and executives alike grinding tape and interviewing prospects via videoconference.

The actual mechanics of the draft will be intriguing to follow. The league says that it will reserve the ability to pause a team’s draft clock if there are technical difficulties. Teams are getting paranoid about videoconferencing security flaws, while

Of course, maybe Giants GM Dave Gettleman has it right — if you minimize your digital platform and keep everything on paper, nobody can hack you!

Here is the schedule for this year’s three-day event, along with broadcast information, the first round draft order, and the list of prospects who will be participating virtually in the draft.

As a new feature in this year’s draft coverage, Acme Packing Company is working on plans to host a live stream event during the first round on Thursday. APC writers and guests will participate in a live video stream to comment on the events of round one and interact with readers and community members live. Stay tuned for more details!

2020 NFL Draft Schedule

Thursday

Round 1
Start time: 8:00 PM Eastern
Time per pick: 10 minutes

Friday

Rounds 2 & 3
Start time: 7:00 PM Eastern
Time per pick: 7 minutes (round 2), 5 minutes (round 3)

Saturday

Rounds 4 through 7
Start time: 12:00 Noon Eastern
Time per pick: 5 minutes (rounds 4-6), 4 minutes (round 7)

TV Broadcast Details

The 2020 NFL Draft will be aired on three networks this year. Due in part to COVID-19 restrictions, ESPN and NFL Network will simulcast the same broadcast featuring analysts and personalities from both networks.

On the first two days of the draft, ABC will also host a separate broadcast, which will focus more heavily on the college football aspects of the event. ABC will then simulcast the ESPN/NFL Network broadcast on Saturday.

ESPN/NFL Network Simulcast

Host: Trey Wingo
Analysts: Mel Kiper, Jr., Louis Riddick, Booger McFarland, Daniel Jeremiah, Michael Irvin, Kurt Warner
Other hosts/reporters: Rich Eisen, Suzy Kolber, Chris Mortensen, Adam Schefter

Available on ESPN.com, ESPN app, NFL.com, and NFL app
Click here to sign up for ESPN+

ABC Broadcast

Host: Rece Davis
Analysts: Todd McShay, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, David Pollack
Other hosts/reporters: Jesse Palmer, Maria Taylor, Tom Rinaldi

Radio Broadcasts

Westwood One Sports
ESPN Radio
TuneIn.com and TuneIn App