How the NFL Draft works

The shape of it

Thirty-two teams, seven rounds, one pick each per round — 224 selections before anything is added or traded. Round 1 runs Thursday night, rounds 2 and 3 Friday night, and rounds 4 through 7 fill Saturday. This year's dates and start times live on their own page.

How the order is set

Worst record picks first. The 18 teams that miss the playoffs are ordered by record alone; the 14 that qualify are slotted behind them by how far they went, with the Super Bowl winner picking 32nd. Ties break on strength of schedule.

That order is the input to everything we publish — see the projected order for the live class.

The clock

Running out of time does not forfeit the pick. The next team may go ahead, and the stalled team selects whenever it is ready — which is how a team occasionally gets jumped on live television.

Compensatory picks, and what nobody actually knows

A team that loses more qualifying free agents than it signs gets extra picks the following year. They land in rounds 3 through 7, slot at the end of their round, and are capped at four per team. Since 2017 they can be traded.

What the league does notpublish is the formula. It is keyed to the departing player's new contract value, playing time and postseason awards, and the precise bands are inferred from years of outcomes rather than read off a rulebook. So every compensatory projection you will see in the spring — including ours — is an estimate, and anyone presenting one as arithmetic is overselling it.

Straight answers

How many rounds are in the NFL Draft?

Seven. Each of the 32 teams holds one pick per round to begin with — 224 selections — and compensatory picks are added on top, so the real total runs a little higher most years.

How is the draft order decided?

By the previous season's record, worst to first. The team with the worst record picks first; the Super Bowl winner picks last. Non-playoff teams are ordered purely by record, and playoff teams are slotted after them by how far they advanced. Ties are broken by strength of schedule.

What is a compensatory pick?

An extra pick awarded to a team that lost more qualifying free agents than it signed the previous offseason. They fall in rounds 3 through 7, are capped at four per team, and slot at the end of their round. The league does not publish the exact formula — it is keyed to the departing player's new contract value, playing time and awards — so every published projection, ours included, is an estimate.

How long does a team have to make a pick?

Ten minutes in round 1, seven in round 2, five in rounds 3 through 6, and four in round 7. A team that runs out of time does not lose the pick — the next team may select, and the team that stalled can still pick whenever it is ready.

Can NFL teams trade draft picks?

Yes, including during the draft itself, and both current and future picks can move. Compensatory picks became tradeable in 2017. Teams cannot trade picks more than a limited number of years out, and every trade is subject to league approval.

Who is eligible for the NFL Draft?

A player must be at least three years removed from high school graduation. Players whose college eligibility has expired are entered automatically; underclassmen who qualify must formally declare by the league's January deadline.

What happens to players who are not drafted?

They become undrafted free agents and can sign with any team immediately after the draft ends. Every year a meaningful number of undrafted players make rosters — which is also why our published accuracy figures carry a caveat: they measure ordering players who were drafted, not the separate question of who gets drafted at all.