What time is the NFL draft, how can I watch it and how does it work? - Yahoo Sports

Published 1 month ago• 5 minute read

The 2025 NFL Draft is nearly upon us, with three fascinating days of squad building ahead as each franchise looks to improve their rosters in the lead up to the new season starting in September.

Though it may seem like the 2024 season only just finished with the Eagles’ dominant Super Bowl win over the history-chasing Kansas City Chiefs, the draft is already here after a fascinating free agency period concluded last month.

And the wait is nearly over for the next batch of NFL hopefuls, with the country’s best college players looking to take the first steps in what they hope will be famous success stories.

Plenty will be made of the initial picks, with many hoping to follow in the footsteps of 1998 first pick Peyton Manning, though it’s worth watching out for success stories further down the pecking order too, with Tom Brady famously selected as the 199th pick overall by the Patriots in 2000.

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the draft.

The draft takes place between Thursday, 24 April and Saturday, 26 April in Wisconsin, USA. For those hoping to watch in the UK, the time difference means the draft begins early in the morning on Friday, 25 April, with subsequent rounds scheduled for around midnight on 26 April and 5pm on the same day.

The draft will be held at Lambeau Field and Titletown District in Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA. This is the home of the Green Bay Packers, who are the NFL’s most successful franchise with 13 championships.

The Green Bay Packers' Lambeau Field will host the 2025 draft for the first time (Getty Images)

Viewers in the UK can follow all the draft action live on Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Action and Sky Sports Mix. Coverage will begin at 1am on Friday, 25 April and Saturday, 26 April, with additional coverage on Sky Sports Action from 5pm BST on 26 April.

If you’re not a Sky customer, you can grab a NOWTV Day Pass to watch without a subscription.

The draft is ordered according to how each team performed in the previous season, from best to worst.

To that end, the Super Bowl winners – in this case the Philadelphia Eagles – will get the final pick of the first round. The Kansas City Chiefs, who were runners-up in the Super Bowl, will get the penultimate pick of the first round.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, the first overall selection is usually given to the team with the worst record in the league. This means that the Tennessee Titans will get the first pick in the 2025 draft, having finished with a 3-14 record.

The teams in between are ordered according to their records throughout the season. All 32 teams have one pick in each of the seven rounds of the draft, unless they have agreed on trades.

Brian Callahan and the Tennessee Titans will have the first pick of the 2025 draft (Getty Images)

As mentioned above, there Tennessee Titans will get the first pick of the 2025 draft, as they finished with a record of three wins and 14 losses.

The Cleveland Browns and New York Giants will get the second and third picks respectively. All three teams finished with the same record, so the record of their opponents was analysed to rank the performance of the trio.

Miami QB Cam Ward (right) is expected to be the first pick of the 2025 draft (Getty Images)

In the months leading up to the draft, Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders – son of NFL star Deion Sanders – was expected to be first pick, though he has since been overtaken by Cam Ward of Miami.

22-year-old Ward led his team to a 10-3 season, achieving the most touchdown passes in college football (39) and the second-most passing yards (4,313) along the way, making him the early favourite for first pick.

However, with the Titans and the Giants both needing a quarterback, Sanders could see himself picked very soon after Ward on Thursday night, with the duo the only two QBs among the highest-rated prospects this year.

Colorado's Travis Hunter is one of the most exciting prospects in this year's draft (Getty Images)

There is plenty of excitement around Colorado’s Travis Hunter, who won the Heisman Trophy for the best college player.

The 21-year-old is a fascinating prospect as he plays significant time on both defence and offence – as a cornerback and wide receiver. The last player to do something similar was the aforementioned Deion Sanders in the 1990s, and the former NFL star coached Hunter and his son Shedeur at Colorado.

Though it is accepted that Hunter has the ability to become a top-tier player in either position, it seems as though NFL teams are unsure as to how to best utilise the youngster at this point.

There will be plenty of eyes on Shedeur Saunders on draft day too, as well as Heisman nominees (Boise State running back) and (Oregon QB).

Penn State pass rusher is the top-rated defensive player in the draft, with (defensive tackle), (linebacker), and Armand Membou (both offensive linemen) also expected to be early picks.

Below is the full order of picks for the first round (though this is subject to change):

1. Tennessee Titans

2. Cleveland Browns

3. New York Giants

4. New England Patriots

5. Jacksonville Jaguars

6. Las Vegas Raiders

7. New York Jets

8. Carolina Panthers

9. New Orleans Saints

10. Chicago Bears

11. San Francisco 49ers

12. Dallas Cowboys

13. Miami Dolphins

14. Indianapolis Colts

15. Atlanta Falcons

16. Arizona Cardinals

17. Cincinnati Bengals

18. Seattle Seahawks

19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

20. Denver Broncos

21. Pittsburgh Steelers

22. Los Angeles Chargers

23. Green Bay Packers

24. Minnesota Vikings

25. Houston Texans

26. Los Angeles Rams

27. Baltimore Ravens

28. Detroit Lions

29. Washington Commanders

30. Buffalo Bills

31. Kansas City Chiefs

32. Philadelphia Eagles

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