PITTSBURGH â The new time limits for the NFL Draftâs first round had a dramatic impact, shaving more than a half-hour from the primetime broadcast on Thursday night.
Carrying almost as much of an immediate impact as MLBâs breakthrough introduction of the pitch clock in 2023,
the NFLâs new limit of eight minutes between individual picksâdown from the prior standard of 10 minutesâinjected a new level of energy into the event.
The
Super Bowl champion Seahawks made the 32nd and final pick of the first round at 11:05 p.m. ETâthree hours and five minutes after the showcase started. That duration is a marked reduction from the first rounds in prior years, which required nearly four hours to complete. Last yearâs final first-round pick happened at 11:43 p.m. ET
Even before
last yearâs NFL Draft in Green Bay ended, league commissioner Roger Goodell said on
The Pat McAfee Show that, âI started thinking [after the first round] that we should shorten it.â
Despite the new eight-minute rule, many teams did not use the full amount of that time on Thursday. The league also succeeded in keeping intact many of its draft traditionsâincluding player hugs with Goodell and on-air interviewsâwhile keeping the clock moving toward the next pick.
. I figured theyâd go oline here.
