Find out all you need to know about the 2019 NFL Draft, which is taking place in Nashville this year as the cream of the college crop is selected by NFL teams.
When is the NFL Draft 2019?
- Dates: Thursday, April 25 (Round 1) | Friday, April 26 (Rounds 2-3) | Saturday, April 27 (Rounds 4-7)
- Start times: 1am BST (Friday) | 12am BST (Saturday) | 5pm BST (Saturday)
How can I watch the NFL Draft?
In the UK, all three days of the NFL Draft will be shown live on Sky Sports Action, with the final day on Saturday being shown via the red button.
Where is the NFL Draft taking place?
After 14 straight years of being staged in New York, the NFL Draft is now being taken around the USA, much like the Super Bowl, with Nashville, Tennessee being this year's venue.
It's a lucrative and high-profile event these days and cities are lining up to become host cities for the Draft, with Chicago, Philadelphia and Dallas hosting the last three before Nashville.
How does the NFL Draft work?
There are seven rounds of drafting with 254 picks and each team gets 10 minutes to make it's selection, teams are said to be 'on the lock' when it's their turn and there's a lot of suspense about the first round, less so as we go further down the ranks.
Teams pick in reverse order to how they finished last season, so the team with the worst record has the first choice of the entire draft class of college football players - this year that's the Arizona Cardinals.
With picks being able to be traded away to sign players during the season, this means that it's not the exact order and sometimes teams have more or fewer picks as a result of being busy in the trade market.
It's important to remember that Draft picks can also be traded between teams on the night itself, even top spot, as Arizona may decide they need more high picks and aren't particularly interested in the top stars so could take two draft picks from a team who really wants that first pick.
What order will NFL teams pick in the first round of the NFL Draft?
(Total number of draft picks)
- Arizona Cardinals (10)
- San Francisco 49ers (6)
- New York Jets (6)
- Oakland Raiders (8)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7)
- New York Giants (12)
- Jacksonville Jaguars (7)
- Detroit Lions (9)
- Buffalo Bills (10)
- Denver Broncos (8)
- Cincinnati Bengals (11)
- Green Bay Packers (10)
- Miami Dolphins (7)
- Atlanta Falcons (9)
- Washington Redskins (9)
- Carolina Panthers (7)
- New York Giants from Cleveland Browns (8)
- Minnesota Vikings (8)
- Tennessee Titans (6)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (10)
- Seattle Seahawks (5)
- Baltimore Ravens (8)
- Houston Texans (7)
- Oakland Raiders from Chicago Bears (5)
- Philadelphia Eagles (7)
- Indianapolis Colts (9)
- Oakland Raiders from Dallas Cowboys (6)
- Los Angeles Chargers (7)
- Seattle Seahawks from Chiefs (7)
- Green Bay Packers from New Orleans Saints (6)
- Los Angeles Rams (7)
- New England Patriots (12)
Who is expected to be the top pick of the NFL Draft?
It seems to be a straight fight between Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray and Ohio State's defensive superstar Nick Bosa. It's a huge decision for Arizona to make, especially as they drafted a QB just last year so common sense would suggest they will go with Bosa.
However, Murray is a rare talent that was also drafted into Major League Baseball by the Oakland A's before he turned his back on the MLB in favour of making it in the NFL.
There are doubts about Murray mainly due to his size as he's not the tallest or biggest QB around, but with such extreme talent it would be a brave side that passed on him only for Murray to then become a superstar in the league - he's viewed as similar to Russell Wilson.
Who are the best players in the 2019 NFL Draft?
You can argue forever on the different skill sets of players at the top of the draft, and plenty will depend on what teams feel their big needs are rather than just how talented they think a player is, but roughly the top 10 is expected to contain the following.
- Kyler Murray, QB, Oklahoma
- Nick Bosa, DE, Ohio State
- Ed Oliver, DT/DE, Houston
- Josh Allen, DE/OLB, Kentucky
- Devin White, ILB, LSU
- Quinnen Williams, DT, Alabama
- Rashan Gary, DT/DE, Michigan
- Montez Sweat, OLB/DE, Mississippi State
- D.K. Metcalf, WR, Ole Miss
- T.J. Hockenson, TE, Iowa
Are only the first round players any good?
Not at all, the New England Patriots are masters at taking lower-round players and fitting them into their dominant side - most notably of course with quarterback Tom Brady.
Brady did not look like a star at all during the NFL Combine and he wasn't taken until the Patriots used the 199th pick of the 2000 Draft - and we all know how that worked out!
Above all else it's about selecting the best players to fit your particular team, your systems and your style of play - it's only very special players that can walk onto any team and be successful, most need nurturing and that is how you get real value out of the NFL Draft.