The NFL Draft is an annual three-day event hosted in a different major city around the U.S. The event, which runs for seven rounds, draws in millions of viewers and hundreds of thousands of in-person attendees annually. The draft shifted from two days to three in 2010.
Every year, over 250 athletes are welcomed by 32 NFL teams to their rosters ahead of the upcoming season, which begins in late summer.
The first NFL Draft was held on Feb. 8, 1936, at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Philadelphia.
Annually, the NFL Draft is full of both unexpected and highly anticipated selections. The order of picks begins with the reverse order of performance from the year prior. The worst team in the NFL selects the first overall draft pick.
In 2024, the Chicago Bears took USC quarterback Caleb Williams as the first overall pick. The Atlanta Falcons selected quarterback Michael Penix in the eighth round despite signing quarterback Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract, with $100 million guaranteed, just weeks prior.
In 2023, the Carolina Panthers selected Bryce Young, an Alabama quarterback.
Terry Bradshaw, Joe Burrow, Jerry Rice, Peyton Manning, and Emmitt Smith are arguably among some of the most well-known first-round draft picks in history.
