NFL Draft: The Rules

The 2022 NFL Draft: The Basics

The NFL Draft is composed of seven rounds with each team having one pick per round for a total of seven picks per team. However, thanks to trades and compensatory picks, some teams have a surplus of picks. Kansas City Chiefs and Jacksonville Jaguars have 12 picks this year while some, like the Miami Dolphins, barely have any; four picks.

These rounds are divided into three days:

Round 1 is Thursday (April 28th)
Rounds 2 and 3 are on Friday (April 29th)
Rounds 4 to 7 are on Saturday (April 30th)

NFL Draft odds will be available on the online sportsbook throughout the event.

Which Players are Eligible to Be Drafted?

A player’s eligibility in the NFL Draft is determined by how long they are removed from high school – the minimum is three years. This means that college football players are usually eligible after their junior season, or in some cases, after their redshirt sophomore season. These players must apply for approval and have until seven days after the NCAA Football National Championship Game to do so.

For the seniors, they are only eligible in the year after the end of their college eligibility.

What Determines the NFL Draft Order?

The order of the NFL Draft is in reverse order of the NFL standings from the previous season. Thus, the worse the team’s record, the higher they pick in the draft.

The tiebreaker is the strength of schedule (win percentage of opponents) and the next tiebreakers are division and conference records, respectively. The rest of the tiebreakers are as follows:

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

For this year’s draft, the Jacksonville Jaguars pick first since they finished with a 3-14 record. The Detroit Lions pick second with a 3-13-1 record. And the Super Bowl Champions always pick last. In this case, it is the Los Angeles Rams (who do not have a pick in round 1, since they traded it).

What are Compensatory Draft Picks?

Compensatory draft picks are used for NFL teams that lose free agents to other teams from the previous season. These picks are awarded on the back ends of Rounds 3 to 7 and the NFL gives up to 32 of these every draft.

The formula for how the NFL rewards compensatory picks have not been revealed publicly, however, these picks can still prove highly valuable as several of the players drafted under these rules have gone on to make a huge impact on the game.

2022 NFL Draft Event Information

Location: Caesars Forum
Day/Time: Thursday, April 28th. 8:00 p.m. ET
2022 NFL Draft Live Stream: NHL.TV

How Much Time to Make a Pick in the NFL Draft?

The amount of time allotted to a team to make a pick depends on the round. The time given gets shorter as we progress through the NFL Draft with Round 1 having the longest time and Round 7 having the shortest.

Round 1: 10 Minutes
Round 2: 7 Minutes
Rounds 3-6: 5 Minutes
Round 7: 4 Minutes

How Long is the NFL Draft?

The NFL Draft is a marathon of an event. Round 1, which covers picks 1 to 32 lasts around three hours (8:00 to 11:00 p.m. ET). This gives you plenty of time to bet online, read draft analysis, and talk smack online.

Rounds 2 to 3 are a bit longer at around four hours. Finally, Rounds 4 to 7 last up to seven hours. In total, expect to be watching around 14 hours of the NFL Draft if you plan to stick around for all seven rounds.