About the NFL Draft

List of 2010 Draft Picks ►

The NFL draft was first instituted in 1936, as the NFL sought a better way to distribute incoming talent from college. The draft became one of three ways a team could adjust its player roster – the other two are trading existing players and free-agent signings.

The draft occurs once a year during April. It is a 7-round, two-day event that allows all 32 teams an opportunity to choose players. Three rounds of players are chosen on the first day, and the final four rounds of players are chosen on the second.

Each round has an average of 32 picks, giving each team a chance to choose a player – unless, of course, the team has traded its draft picks to another team. Draft order is determined by the reverse of a team’s record during the season; in other words, the least successful team of the season gets first pick in the first round.

When the Superbowl is finished at the end of January, the draft clock begins ticking. The clock marks the amount of time a team has before it must choose its players. The clock becomes truly significant on draft day, when NFL Commissioner walks onto the stage at The Theater at Madison Square Gardens and declares that the first team on the draft order is “on the clock.”

Once the draft begins in earnest, one team is always on the clock. In the first round, teams have 15 minutes to make a choice once their team is announced; in round 2, teams have ten minutes; and in rounds 3 – 7, teams only have five minutes to make their choices.

Key figures from teams consult with one another in what is known as the War Room; it is here that teams decide who will be picked. Once a decision is made in the War Room, it is dispatched to a team representative at Madison Square Gardens, given to a NFL official, and then announced by the NFL Commissioner on stage.

Often times, decisions are made long before the draft, and the announcement is a mere formality. Other times, decisions are thwarted by a pick made by another team. Thus, most teams pay very close attention to the goings-on in the draft, as the outcome can often make or break a team in the following season