NFL Draft Time Change Rule Could Be Problematic For TV

A welcome change for NFL Draft viewers may create some behind-the-scenes chaos.

The pick timer will shrink this year, with every team having eight minutes instead of 10 to make its first-round selection. The NFL reduced the timer from 15 minutes in 2008.

A shorter clock could cut an hour off Thursday night's event, which is good news for some fans hoping to get to bed earlier. The Las Vegas Raiders will be on the clock when the opening round starts at 8 p.m. ET.

It could also force the TV productions to play catch-up more often. Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio predicted a "longer backlog of picks" on Thursday night, explaining that selections are usually submitted before they're publicly revealed at the live event.

Despite attempting to speed up the draft, the league also likely won't want to rush early pick announcements while playing up the pageantry and suspense.

"That's what's so strange about giving the teams less time," Florio wrote. "While the league wants the whole night to move more quickly, it doesn't want to accelerate the process of announcing some of the picks - especially not in the first half of the round."

How pick timer can affect NFL Draft

Teams also must adjust to the time tweak. Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Omar Khan considered the change during Monday's pre-draft press conference.

"I'd love to have 10 minutes, but it's the same for everybody else," Khan said. "Eight minutes is what it is, but those two minutes, it feels like an eternity sometimes."

Everyone will have less time to negotiate draft-night trades, which has prompted Khan to prepare more for potential deals in advance.

"They moved the first round from 10 minutes to eight minutes, so naturally we've been having more conversations to set parameters of what the value is if you move up to this spot or trade back. There's more conversation, but until we get there, I'm not sure how that's going to go."

While the diminished timer could force some backstage adjustments, fans probably won't mind the change if picks are called sooner. However, they may have to be more careful when scrolling social media, as a logjam increases the risk of picks being leaked before they're officially announced.

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This story was originally published April 21, 2026 at 9:14 AM.