An introduction to the NFL Draft for Denver Broncos fans

What is the NFL Draft?

For everyone that does not know or wants to know more, the NFL Draft is an annual event from the National Football League, where teams add college football players to their respective rosters. It started in 1936. This event does not have a specific place, every year is hosted by a different city, and most of the time is held during the last week of the month of April, from Thursday to Saturday.

How does the NFL Draft work?

Well, the NFL Draft has usually seven rounds where teams select players depending on their position needs, or sometimes based on player talent. The order of the selections is based on the teams' previous season record. The team with the worst win-loss record has the first overall pick, and the Super Bowl Champion has the Thirty-second Overall pick in each round unless trades are made. The Draft has seven rounds, so every NFL Draft has a minimum of 224 selections. Additionally, teams receive conditional Draft picks, which are extra picks they get if they lose an important player, coach, or executive during the offseasons, via trade or Free Agency. So the total amount of players selected depends on the conditional picks.

If teams have the same win-loss record, there are tiebreakers to determine who has the higher Draft pick. For example, one tie-breaker is the team's win-loss record within the Division or conference. The order for teams that make the Playoffs is determined depending on where they are eliminated. For example, a team that loses in the Wild Card Round has a higher pick that the team that lost the Super Bowl.

Why does the worst team has the best pick instead of the best team?

Well, the worst team (in terms of their win-loss record) has the first pick in the Draft so it gives them the opportunity to select the best eligible player, so they have better chances to improve their roster and win more games in the following season.

Which players go to the NFL Draft?

To be a Draft eligible player, you need to be at least three years out of High School, and there is a deadline to decide if you will enter or not for the Draft, most of the time in January. You do not need to be a college football player to enter the Draft, you just need to be out of High School for at least three years, but if you play College Football you have more chances to be viewed by NFL Scouts.

Pick CLOCK

Each team has a limited amount of time to make their player selection, depending on the Round. Every team has a maximum of ten minutes to do their selection in the First Round, seven minutes in the Second Round, five minutes in Rounds Three to Six, and four minutes in Round Seven. If the time finishes and the team has not selected a player, the pick is forfeited, and it's the next team's turn.

Teams can trade their picks when they are on the clock, or even before they are on the clock, this is to jump on other teams to get a specific player, or to get a worse pick at the moment, but to get more capital for the rest of the Draft.

THE 2023 NFL DRAFT

The 2023 NFL Draft will be held in Kansas City, Missouri, from April 27 to April 29. Round One is on Thursday, April 27, at 8:00 pm ET, Rounds Two and Three is on Friday, April 28, at 7:00 pm ET, and Rounds Four to Seven will be on Saturday, April 29, at noon ET.

Let's see where do the players land in the 2023 NFL Draft, and enjoy the celebration!