NFL Draft

The NFL Draft is an annual event where the best college football players across the nation gather to be selected into the NFL. The NFL Draft is also known as the Player Selection Meeting. The inaugural NFL Draft took place in 1936 and was first televised live in 1980. The Draft extended to a three-day format in 2010 and is held in a different city each year. The NFL Draft has become one of the most exciting footballing events attracting an abundance of audiences across platforms. The Draft is a way for franchises to remain in contention with each other. 

The NFL Draft takes place on the last Thursday, Friday, and Saturday in April. The first round is on Thursday, the second and third rounds are on Friday, and the fourth-seventh rounds are on Saturday. To be eligible for the NFL Draft, a player must either be redshirt sophomore, junior, or senior. Once you declare for the draft, a player is not allowed to go back and play college football. 

The 2023 NFL Draft will be held on the 27th of April 2023 and run till 29th of April 2023. The 2023 NFL Draft class is one of the best in recent years and there might be huge future stars in the group. This will be the 88th NFL Draft meeting to select new players for each team. 

2023 NFL Draft Dates & Location 

The 2023 NFL Draft will be hosted in Kansas City from April 27th to April 29th, 2023. The venue for the Draft was selected on May 22, 2019. 

The Draft is spread across three days: 

The 2023 NFL Draft will be held at the scenic Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri. The Union Station is located near the city's World War I Museum and Memorial. Kansas City will be hosting the NFL Draft for the first time in history which is a milestone for the place. 

2023 NFL Draft Tickets 

Coming as a shock to most fans, the tickets to the NFL Draft do not require any cost. Visitors are invited to the three-day event. They can attend the entire three-day NFL Draft this year for free. To be eligible for draft tickets, fans must download the NFL's OnePass app. As the draft approaches, more information is made available on the application.

The NFL Draft Experience features an immersive theme park featuring picture opportunities and autograph signings. These experiences will be enjoyed only by those who are fortunate enough to obtain a ticket. At the NFL Draft Theater, where all the on-stage activities take place, there will be free performances at the end of each day. 

NFL Network and ESPN both have television coverage of all seven draft rounds. Ensure you sign up for a FuboTV subscription or a free trial if you want streaming choices. Moreover, ESPN+ and the NFL’s official website both offer streaming alternatives.

NFL Draft Format 2023 

Although the format of the NFL Draft has seen changes throughout history, the basic ideology is to allow fairness of competition so the teams who performed poorly in the last season get to pick first.

Each of the 32 NFL teams has an automatic pick in each of the seven rounds of the draft. The first round gives each team ten minutes to make their choice, the second gives them seven, the third gives them five, the fourth gives them four, and the seventh gives them seven. The team may still choose if there is still time before the deadline; however, this would allow the following team(s) to submit their picks before them.

The number one pick belongs to the team that had the worst regular season record and the number the 20th pick belongs to the team that had the best regular season record in which they missed the playoffs. Picks 21-24 are given to teams eliminated in the first round, i.e, the Wild Card round of the playoffs. Picks 25-28 are given to teams eliminated in the second round, i.e., the Divisional round of the playoffs.

The 29th and 30th picks are given to the teams which were eliminated in the Conference round of the playoffs. Finally, the 31st pick is given to the team which lost the Super Bowl while the 32nd pick is given to the team who won the Super Bowl.

Teams are allowed to make trades and acquire extra picks. Some teams receive compensatory picks. This is based on the salary, playing time, and postseason honors of the free agents each team lost during the previous off-season. No team usually receives a compensatory pick until at least the third round. 

NFL Draft Order 2023 

The NFL Draft order is assigned based on the performances of teams in the previous season. Since the Chicago Bears had the least impressive NFL season out of all teams in the 2022 NFL season, they received the Number 1 pick. The Chicago Bears originally owned the first overall pick for the first time since 1947  but they traded it to the Carolina Panthers for multiple draft picks and wide receiver D. J. Moore.

Here is the first Round order for the 2023 NFL Draft. 

NFL Draft Prospects

The 2023 NFL Draft class is one of the strongest over the last few years. Each position is very well represented in the 2023 NFL Draft class with the tight end position being the best in the past few years. 

Some of the top prospects for the 2023 NFL Draft include quarterbacks CJ Stroud and Bryce Young. Tight Ends Dalton Kincaid and Sam LaPorta are some of the best prospects in the entire league too. Other top prospects include Jalen Carter (DI), Will Anderson Jr. (Edge), and quarterback Anthony Richardson. 

These are only some of the total prospects in the Draft. To have an immersive NFL Draft experience and look at the best prospects for your favorite NFL team, do check out Sportskeeda’s 2023 NFL Mock Draft Simulator. The simulator provides the best prospective options for your NFL team.