This Ins and Outs of How the NFL Draft Works
By
Richard Janvrin
Contributor Updated: 04 December 2024
Richard Janvrin Contributor
Richard has been writing about sports since he was a teenager. Still, his first professional role came in 2015, covering all things NFL and fantasy football-related. From there, in December 2018, he started in the sports betting industry, covering sportsbook reviews before arriving to where he is today.
How the NFL Draft Works
All professional leagues hold a yearly draft, but none have become the spectacle that is the NFL Draft.
This draft spans three days in late April, divided into the first, second, and third rounds and the fourth through seventh rounds.
There are more than 250 picks, and this energizes fan bases everywhere as they select the players who’ll shape their franchises’ future.
While we can all watch the draft, see a player taken, and begin wondering how our favorite teams will improve or are still some time away from making any serious news in the playoffs, what happens behind the scenes?
What are the rules? How is a player eligible? How does the NFL Draft work?
Below, I’ll examine that, including the process, how picks are assigned, and more.
Let’s dive in.
- The Overall Draft Process
- Determining Eligibility
- How Draft Picks Are Assigned
- Compensatory Selections
- NFL Draft Trades
The Overall Draft Process
As mentioned, the draft spans three days in late April. This is also a prime event to wager on the sport at NFL online sportsbooks as you can bet things like who will be drafted where, how many players from a specific conference will be drafted, and so on.
Here’s how the NFL draft works:
It always takes place on a Thursday through a Saturday.
- Thursday: First round.
- Friday: Second and third rounds.
- Saturday: Fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh rounds.
Each round is timed differently, depending on how long teams have to make selections.
- First Round: 10 minutes
- Second Round: 7 minutes
- Third-Sixth Rounds: 5 minutes
- Seventh Round: 4 minutes
If a team fails to make a pick within their time limit, they can pick at any time after that, but the teams drafting after them can pick quickly and put them even further behind.
This happened in 2003 with the Minnesota Vikings. They were drafting seventh overall and failed to make a trade. They ended up going No. 9 overall, taking defensive tackle Kevin Williams.
At the site of the draft, each team has a table that allows them to stay in contact with league officials and the team’s headquarters, where ownership and management can make picks.
Those at the table also write down the player’s name and give it to a runner. From there, the pick is official, and the clock resets for the next pick on the clock.
Determining Eligibility
If you’ve ever Googled “how to enter the NFL draft,” you’ll be surprised to find there are quite a few requirements.
To be eligible for the NFL Draft, a player must be out of high school for at least three years. So, there’s really no NFL age requirement; you just need to be out of high school for at least three years.
Players can also be eligible if they use up all four years of their college eligibility.
For underclassmen hoping to declare for the draft or those who have graduated early can seek permission from the league to enter the draft early.
Before the draft, NFL Player Personnel staffers confirm the eligibility of the players, up to 3,000 of them. They also work with the NCAA to research each player’s background.
Underclassmen have seven days after the NCAA National Championship Game to officially declare.
Looking back at the 2017 NFL Draft, more than 100 underclassmen were approved. There were 13 players who graduated without using all four years of college eligibility.
How Draft Picks Are Assigned
As a default, all 32 teams are assigned seven selections, including one in each round.
Of course, teams can trade their selections.
The draft order is based on the regular season record, in reverse order, with the worst win-loss record going No. 1 to No. 18. There are tie-breakers for teams with the same records, such as strength of schedule and winning percentage.
There are additional tiebreakers in the event teams have identical records, strength of schedule, and winning percentage, including the following per league rules:
- Head-to-head, if applicable
- Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games (minimum of four)
- Strength of victory in all games
- Best combined ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed in all games
- Best net points in all games
- Best net touchdowns in all games
- Coin toss
From there, picks No. 19 to No. 32 are based on the performance of each team in the postseason.
So, after the wild card game, the losers are arranged in reverse order of their regular season standings, and that continues through to the Super Bowl.
Compensatory Selections
How does the NFL draft work with compensatory selection?
The NFL has compensatory selections in addition to the default seven picks per team across the seven rounds.
These are awarded to teams at the end of the third to seventh rounds for losing more or better players in free agency than they acquired.
The compensatory selection formula, designed by the NFL Management Council, is based on a player’s new salary, playing time, postseason accomplishments, and more.
Teams can receive up to a maximum of four compensatory selections. There can also be just a total of 32 compensatory selections.
However, there have been two occasions in which 33 were awarded.
- The Buffalo Bills lost Da’Norris Searcy in 2016’s free agency period. They signed Charles Clay as a transition-tagged player from the Miami Dolphins, but he didn’t qualify as a compensatory free agent.
- In 2021, the New England Patriots received an additional fifth-round compensatory selection for losing Jamie Collins after wide receiver Damiere Byrd wasn’t considered a compensatory free agent.
Compensatory selections are important as they allow teams to replenish their rosters.
After all, former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady, taken No. 199 overall, was a compensatory pick.
NFL Draft Trades
As mentioned, teams can trade their draft selections to another team at any time before or during the draft.
When teams agree to a trade, they must contact league officials to inform them of the trade.
In the NFL draft, eligibility-wise, teams can only trade picks two years ahead of where they’re drafting.
When the current draft begins, the schedule is considered to be the next season.
For example, at the start of the 2025 NFL Draft, teams can trade picks through 2028.
The day before the draft, teams can only trade assets through the 2027 draft.
Forfeited Picks
For the final section of the NFL draft explained, I want to touch on forfeited selections.
Since 1980, 15 teams have forfeited 28 picks for 23 rule violations, and three other picks have been moved down the board.
The Patriots have lost five draft picks on four violations, which is the most among any team.
The most notable recent examples were the Dolphins losing their 2023 first-round and 2024 third-round picks for tampering violations involving Tom Brady and Sean Payton.
There have been three first-round picks forfeited since 1980.
