The NFL Draft is a multi-day extravaganza, with the top college football players discovering where they will begin their professional careers. Gone are the days of teams having to make decisions across 30 rounds, but how many rounds are there, and what are the significant NFL Draft rules you should know?
How Many Rounds Are in the NFL Draft?
The NFL Draft consists of seven rounds. The first round will take place on Thursday, April 27. Rounds 2 and 3 will occur on Friday, April 28. Finally, Rounds 4-7 of the draft will transpire on Saturday, April 29.
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NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will announce every pick of the first round live on stage in Kansas City. A combination of NFL executives, former players, and other special guests will announce the subsequent rounds, although not all will be televised.
How Many Picks Are in Each Round of the NFL Draft?
The 2023 NFL Draft will have 259 picks. As always, the team with the worst record over the previous season will receive the No. 1 overall pick, while the Super Bowl champion will make the 32nd selection. This year, the Chicago Bears were slotted to draft first overall, but they have since traded the pick to the Carolina Panthers.
There will be no 32nd pick made this year in the first round, as the Miami Dolphins were stripped of their Day 1 pick due to tampering with another team’s player, revealed to be the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Tom Brady. Instead, the final pick of the first round will be the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs’ pick No. 31.
Each team is initially given one draft selection in each round. However, many end up changing hands by way of trades. The league also awards compensatory picks, meaning that most rounds exceed 32 picks. This is especially the case given the relatively new JC-2A compensatory picks.
This resolution rewards teams who developed minority candidates and then saw them hired into head coach or general manager positions by other organizations. Teams receive two selections if another team hires one candidate; it escalates to three selections if other teams hire two candidates.
Adding this to the equation sees the picks for each round broken out in the following way:
- Round 1: 31 picks
- Round 2: 32 picks
- Round 3: 41 picks
- Round 4: 39 picks
- Round 5: 40 picks
- Round 6: 44 picks
- Round 7: 32 picks
How Long Does Each Team Have To Pick?
Each team’s amount of time “on the clock” reduces as the draft proceeds. In the first round, each franchise receives 10 minutes to make their selection. That falls to seven minutes in Round 2, five in Rounds 3, 4, 5, and 6, and just four in Round 7.
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NFL Draft rules are clear. If a team doesn’t make their pick or trade it before the clock expires, the next team in the order is officially on the clock. While they can still make their selection, it becomes a race to make the pick. If both teams want the same player, then whoever locks and sends their card up first owns the rights to said player.
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