By Max Lark
The National Football League (NFL) Draft is the perfect way for football fans to bide their time while looking forward to fall and the return of another season of glorious gridiron action.
Which players are moving up in the draft, which are moving down? Will Oklahoma standout Junior quarterback Kyler Murray be drafted in the first round? Which quarterback goes first, University of Missouri’s Drew Lock or The Ohio State University’s wunderkind Dwayne Haskins? Who from the University of Michigan Wolverines will be drafted in the first round, super-athletic defensive end Rashan Gary or speedy, hard-hitting linebacker Devin Bush? Will both be?
For professional and college football fans, the NFL Draft is one of the most-anticipated times of the year. For college football fans, bragging rights are on the line; for fans of professional football, it’s a matter of get our team the best players. In short, if you love football, you love the NFL Draft. What happens over these three days could lead NFL teams to fortune—or misfortune—so fans are engaged.
This year, Disney’s presentation of the 2019 NFL Draft from Nashville, Tennessee, will offer more to fans than ever before, as the entire event will air on both ESPN and ABC, and each network will provide distinct telecasts for Rounds 1–3 in prime time. Additionally, all seven rounds of the draft will be streamed live on the ESPN App and ABC App, broadcast on ESPN Radio and available in Spanish—on both TV and radio—on ESPN Deportes.
Here’s what you need to know about Disney’s blanket coverage of the 2019 NFL Draft.
There is multi-network coverage of every draft round, from 1 to 7.
Here’s the three-day programming schedule:
Thursday, April 25 (8–11:30 p.m. ET): NFL Draft, Round 1—ABC, ESPN, NFL Network, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Radio
Friday, April 26 (7–11:30 p.m. ET): NFL Draft, Rounds 2 and 3—ABC, ESPN/ESPN2, NFL Network, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Radio
Saturday, April 27 (12–7 p.m. ET): NFL Draft, Rounds 4–7—ABC (simulcast of ESPN telecast), ESPN, NFL Network, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Radio
This year’s coverage of the NFL Draft is the most comprehensive ever undertaken.
In anticipation of the event, 360+ hours of dedicated NFL Draft content is airing across all ESPN networks (starting the week of the NFL Combine), 250+ hours of top prospects’ and recent NFL Draft picks’ best college games are available on ESPNU and a 26-hour NFL Draft Marathon on ESPN and ESPN2 leads into Round 1. Draft presentations will feature 100+ player personality bumps, 50+ storytelling vignettes, 30 player live shots and 25 “sense of place” bumps with local Nashville artists.
ESPN’s traditional draft telecast, presented for the fourth year by Courtyard, features host Trey Wingo, NFL Draft analysts Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay (Rounds 2–7), NFL analysts Louis Riddick and Booger McFarland (Round 1), NFL Insiders Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter and NFL host Suzy Kolber.
ABC’s differentiated coverage for Rounds 1–3, which will focus on the journey of NFL Draft prospects, features Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts (Round 1) and the eight-time Sports Emmy Award-winning College GameDay Built by The Home Depot crew of host Rece Davis, analysts Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, Desmond Howard and David Pollack, reporters Tom Rinaldi and Maria Taylor and contributor Chris “The Bear” Fallica. Plus, the 2019 NFL Draft on ABC will include ESPN’s Jesse Palmer and special guest NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes (prior to Round 1). American Idol judge Luke Bryan and mentor Bobby Bones will also appear on ABC’s prime-time draft coverage. Bryan will join the GameDay crew on night one, while Bones will serve as a roving reporter from the streets of Nashville on both nights, sharing the enthusiasm of the city, fans’ passion and a behind-the-scenes look at the NFL Draft for viewers at home. ABC will simulcast ESPN’s Day 3 telecast of Rounds 4-7.
ESPN Deportes will also cover every round of the NFL Draft for the first time. Commentators include: Eduardo Varela, Pablo Viruega, Miguel Pasquel, Sebastian Martinez-Christensen, Monday Night Football’s Alvaro Martin and Raul Allegre, and special guests (TV), and Kenneth Garay and Carlos Nava (radio).
All seven rounds of the 2019 NFL Draft will also be streamed live on both the ESPN App and ABC App.
There will be blanket live programming from Nashville on ESPN and ABC
The top names in sports are in Nashville to provide the up-close-and-personal coverage football fans clamor for. Check out some of the programming below:
Golic and Wingo
Mike Golic and Trey Wingo will air on ESPN Radio from 6–10 a.m. ET—with simulcasts on ESPN2 and ESPNEWS—from the West Club at Nissan Stadium on April 25 and 26. Golic and Mike Golic Jr. will be joined both days by host Jason Fitz and a full slate of guests. The broadcasts are open to the public with doors opening at 4:30 a.m. CT.
Good Morning America
Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts will be live from Nashville on April 25 to preview the NFL Draft.
Get Up!
Host Mike Greenberg and the team from Get Up! will be live from Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery, located next to the stage where the draft picks will be announced, on April 25–26 from 8–10 a.m. ET on ESPN. This will be the first time the popular morning show hosts an entire show from a remote location.
First Take
ESPN’s popular morning debate show First Take will be live from the West Club at Nissan Stadium on April 25 and 26 from 10 a.m. to noon ET. Stephen A. Smith and Max Kellerman will be joined by host Will Cain. Both shows—which will feature a full lineup of NFL and other celebrity guests such as Eddie George, Tim McGraw and ESPN’s Desmond Howard and David Pollack, as well as free giveaways—will be open to the public with doors opening at 7:30 a.m. CT.
SportsCenter
Mike Greenberg will host SportsCenter segments on April 25 and 26 from noon–3 p.m. ET.
Stephen A. Smith Show
The Stephen A. Smith Show on ESPN Radio and simulcast on ESPNEWS, will be live from the West Club at Nissan Stadium on April 25 and 26 from 1–3 p.m. ET. The shows will include previews, reaction and analysis from host Stephen A. Smith on all the latest NFL Draft news from Nashville.
NFL Live
ESPN’s weekday NFL news and information show NFL Live will be live from The NFL Experience on April 24 from 1:30–3 p.m. ET and on April 25 and 26 from 3–5 p.m. ET. Wendi Nix will host all three days with NFL analysts Tim Hasselbeck and Rex Ryan and NFL Draft analyst Jim Nagy. Thursday’s show will also include special guest appearances by ESPN’s Trey Wingo, Rece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit and Sam Ponder, as well as NFL Network’s Rich Eisen and Daniel Jeremiah.
College GameDay
ESPN’s eight-time Sports Emmy Award-winning College GameDay Built by The Home Depot crew Rece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, Desmond Howard, David Pollack and Chris “The Bear” Fallica will preview the 2019 NFL Draft on April 25 from 5–7 p.m. ET with special guest Bobby Bones and college football coaches Lincoln Riley, Ryan Day and David Shaw. On April 26 (5–6 p.m. ET), Davis will be joined by Howard, Pollack and Jesse Palmer, as well as special guest Jim Mora. On April 27 (11 a.m.–12 p.m. ET), Maria Taylor will host the show with Howard, Palmer, Pollack and Mora.
NFL Draft Countdown
ESPN’s NFL Draft host Trey Wingo will preview Round 1 on April 25 (7–8 p.m. ET) with Mel Kiper Jr., Todd McShay, Louis Riddick, Booger McFarland, Chris Mortensen, Adam Schefter and Suzy Kolber. On April 26 (6–7 p.m. ET), Wingo will be joined by Kiper, McShay, Riddick, Mortensen, Schefter and Kolber.
There’s Even More Coverage…
This year, there are more ways than ever to get your NFL Draft fix, including:
Across Platforms: ESPN NFL Draft Projections in Virtual Reality
Leading up to and during this year’s NFL Draft coverage, ESPN will assess the potential of prospective players in virtual reality using ESPN Sports Analytics’ new projection model which incorporates grades from Scouts, Inc., NFL Combine metrics and athletically similar players’ past draft results. The segments feature ESPN football analyst Dan Orlovsky breaking down stats and rankings in an innovative and customizable, virtual reality environment.
ESPN.com
ESPN.com’s coverage of the 2019 NFL Draft will focus on signature voices Mel Kiper Jr., Todd McShay, Louis Riddick, Kirk Herbstreit, Mike Sando and others. Highlights include NFL Mock Drafts paired with SportsCenter Specials, pros and cons on every first-round draft pick from NFL Nation, plus Draft Day analysis from NFL Nation on all 254 picks and real-time data via DraftCast. Following the 2019 NFL Draft, ESPN will release Kiper’s Draft Grades (the foundation for SportsCenter Special: Draft Grades on April 28) and ‘Early Impact’ Rookies (April 30) as well as McShay’s best picks for all 32 teams (April 27). Additionally, NFL Nation will break down the biggest post-draft questions for all 32 teams (April 29) and McShay will look ahead to next year with a Way-Too-Early 2020 Mock Draft (May 2).
The Undefeated
Senior NFL writer Jason Reid will lead NFL Draft coverage on The Undefeated—ESPN’s multiplatform content initiative exploring the intersections of sports, race and culture—from Nashville. Highlights include:
- Reid explores the history of black quarterbacks being selected in the first round of the NFL Draft.
- Domonique Foxworth presents his mock draft of the first 32 picks.
- Reid will live tweet the first and second rounds of the draft.
ESPN International
This year, ESPN International will cover the NFL Draft with its most robust content plan to date, offering live television coverage of the NFL Draft to more than 31 million households in 61 countries and territories throughout Spanish-speaking Latin America, Brazil, the Caribbean, Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands and Canada (on TSN). Highlights include:
- For the first time ever, ESPN will produce all three days of the draft in Spanish language, which will air live throughout Spanish-speaking Latin America.
- Also for the first time ever, Brazil will produce and air all three days of the NFL Draft live in Portuguese language.
- The Caribbean and the Pac Rim region (Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Islands) will air all three days live and on the first day, both regions will air the ESPN U.S. production on one channel and the ABC NFL Draft production on another channel, providing fans differentiated content and perspectives.
- ESPN will simulcast its television coverage via its broadband players, WatchESPN in Brazil, Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Islands and ESPN Play in the Caribbean and Spanish-speaking Latin America.
- Immediately following the NFL Draft, on Sunday ESPN International will air the EA Sports Madden NFL 19 Bowl esports competition live throughout Spanish-speaking Latin America, Brazil, the Caribbean and in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.