The highly anticipated 2023 NFL Draft kicks off Thursday, April 27. For three days, Kansas City, Missouri, will be the center of the football universe as teams select the next class of NFL stars.
Whether you’re a die-hard football fan or just want to see who your favorite team will pick, we have all the details on when and where you can watch every exciting minute of this year’s draft.
What is the NFL Draft?
The NFL draft is an annual event where team owners, coaches, and decision-makers come together to select eligible college football players to join their teams. The draft allows the teams’ owners and general managers to build their pool of players through a process designed to promote team parity. Approximately 255 players are drafted into the NFL each year.
Each year ahead of the draft the NFL holds its combine in Indianapolis – an invitation-only event. Certain players are invited to participate in training drills, interviews, etc. which allows teams to get a better understanding of the players available to be drafted. This late February/early March event gives invited prospects the opportunity to improve their stock and impress scouts and team personnel prior to draft night; though a bad combine performance can lower your chances as well.
Although each NFL team secretly ranks the eligible players according to their talent and fit within the organization, media outlets and football pundits also rank the players. They share this information online and on TV before the draft, building hype around the most sought-after players and speculating which teams will select which players.
All of the attention following the regular season, bowl games, college football playoffs, colleges’ pro days, and media speculation means fans are hyped up by the time the draft comes around. Fortunately, you can watch all seven rounds of the draft, allowing you to witness all the drama from the first to the final pick.
How Does the NFL Draft Work?
The seven-round draft spans three days. All 32 teams in the NFL are offered one selection in each of the seven rounds, plus the potential for compensatory picks. Compensatory picks are highly coveted because they are a ‘free’ pick, and they are only awarded to teams that have lost more free agents than they have gained. However, it is important to note that each team may not actually draft a player in each round. This is due to the ability to trade other teams for better picks in the current draft or in subsequent years.
The NFL Rules of the Draft give each team 10 minutes to make first-round picks, seven minutes for their second-round picks, five minutes in the third through sixth rounds, and four minutes for round seven.
The round is complete when each team has selected a player or traded its position in the draft.
Update : 2023 NFL Draft Highlights
The 2023 NFL draft made dreams come true for many elite athletes looking to get their shot in the pros. As always, there were some surprising picks and shocking moments, including Kentucky quarterback being snubbed in the first round before ultimately being drafted by the Tennessee Titans as the 33rd overall pick. In fact, three of the first five picks of the draft were quarterback selections, with the Panthers, Texans, and Colts all selecting a new QB.
This year’s Mr. Irrelevant, the nickname for the final player to be picked in the draft, is Desjuan Johnson, a defensive lineman from the University of Toledo who was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams. We’ll have to wait and see if he has the same success as last year’s title holder Brock Purdy. Unsurprisingly, following their success during the 2022 season, Alabama and Georgia had the most players selected in this year’s draft with ten players each being chosen.
NFL Team Draft Order and Selections
The draft order is the reverse order of the teams’ records from the prior season. In other words, the team with the worst record picks first, and the Super Bowl champion gets the last pick.
After all the recent trades, here is the current 2023 NFL Draft first-round selection order as well as who each team drafted::
- Carolina Panthers (from Chicago Bears) – Bryce Young, QB (Alabama)
- Houston Texans – C.J. Stroud, QB (Ohio State)
- The Houston Texans traded in order to get the 3rd pick. – Will Anderson, LB (Alabama)
- Indianapolis Colts– Anthony Richardson, QB (Florida)
- Seattle Seahawks (from Denver Broncos)– Devon Witherspoon, DB (Illinois)
- The Arizona Cardinals traded in order to get the 6th pick. – Paris Johnson, OL (Ohio State)
- Las Vegas Raiders – Tyree Wilson, LB (Texas Tech)
- Atlanta Falcons – Bijan Robinson, RB (Texas)
- The Philadelphia Eagles traded in order to get the 9th pick. – Jalen Carter, DL (Georgia)
- The Chicago Bears traded in order to get the 10th pick. – Darnell Wright, OL (Tennessee)
- Tennessee Titans – Peter Skoronski, OL (Northwestern)
- The Detroit Lions traded in order to get the 12th pick. – Jahmyr Gibbs, RB (Alabama)
- The Green Bay Packers traded in order to get the 13th pick. – Lukas Van Ness, DL (Iowa)
- The Pittsburgh Steelers traded in order to get the 14th pick. – Broderick Jones, OL (Georgia)
- The New York Jets traded in order to get the 15th pick. – Will McDonald, DE (Iowa State)
- Washington Commanders – Emmanuel Forbes, CB (Mississippi State)
- The New England Patriots traded in order to get the 17th pick. – Christian Gonzalez, DB (Oregon)
- Detroit Lions – Jack Campbell, LB (Iowa)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers– Calijah Kancey, DL (University of Pittsburgh)
- Seattle Seahawks – Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR (Ohio State)
- Miami Dolphins (forfeited)
- Los Angeles Chargers – Quentin Johnston, WR (TCU)
- Baltimore Ravens– Zay Flowers, WR (Boston College)
- Minnesota Vikings – Jordan Addison, WR (USC)
- The New York Giants traded in order to get the 25th (24th due to Dolphins forfeit) pick. – Deonte Banks, DB (Maryland)
- The Buffalo Bills traded in order to get the 26th (25th due to Dolphins forfeit) pick. – Dalton Kincaid, TE (Utah)
- Dallas Cowboys – Mazi Smith, DL (Michigan)
- The Jacksonville Jaguars traded in order to get the 28th (27th due to Dolphins forfeit) pick. – Anton Harrison, OL (Oklahoma)
- Cincinnati Bengals – Myles Murphy, DE (Clemson)
- New Orleans Saints (from San Francisco 49ers through Miami Dolphins and Denver Broncos) – Bryan Bresee, DT (Clemson)
- Philadelphia Eagles – Nolan Smith, LB (Georgia)
- Kansas City Chiefs – Felix Anudike-Uzomah, DE (Kansas State)
See the list of the order for all seven rounds on NFL.com.
What to Look for at the 2023 NFL Draft
Last year in Las Vegas, Travon Walker was the top overall pick selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars, and Aidan Hutchinson was selected second by the Detroit Lions. This year, the Carolina Panthers have the first selection, and they hope to draft the team’s next great quarterback.
The Miami Dolphins will not have a first round selection after the NFL announced the team must forfeit its 2023 first-round pick due to a violation of league policies. The Detroit Lions, Seattle Seahawks, Houston Texans, and Philadelphia Eagles will all have two first-round picks as a result of pre-draft trades.
Players to Watch
Here are the top 10 NFL prospects as ranked by ESPN.
| Rank | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | Bryce Young | QB | Alabama |
| 2 | Will Anderson Jr. | OLB | Alabama |
| 3 | C.J. Stroud | QB | Ohio State |
| 4 | Tyree Wilson | DE | Texas Tech |
| 5 | Peter Skoronski | OT | Northwestern |
| 6 | Bijan Robinson | RB | Texas |
| 7 | Christian Gonzalez | CB | Oregon |
| 8 | Paris Johnson Jr. | OT | Ohio State |
| 9 | Michael Mayer | TE | Notre Dame |
| 10 | Nolan Smith | OLB | Georgia |
How to Watch All Seven Rounds of the NFL Draft
The 2023 NFL Draft will air in its entirety on the NFL Network, ABC, ESPN, and in Spanish on ESPN Deportes.
The following streaming service options include ABC, ESPN, and the NFL Network in select packages: Direct TV, fubo, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, and YouTube TV. The Disney Bundle includes Hulu and ESPN+ as options also. Some services offer free trials, so you can sign up, live stream the draft, and catch all the action for free.
The draft coverage schedule is as follows:
- Round 1: Thursday, April 27 at 8:00 PM ET
- Rounds 2-3: Friday, April 28 at 7:00 PM ET
- Rounds 4-7: Saturday, April 29 at 12:00 PM ET
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