ESPN’s Presentation of the 2018 NFL Draft

Photos via ESPN Images

• Kirk Herbstreit Joins Trey Wingo, Mel Kiper Jr., and Louis Riddick for Round 1
• College GameDay Shows and College-Themed Draft Presentation Originate from Arlington
• ABC to Simulcast ESPN’s Coverage of Rounds 4-7
• ESPN’s 26-Hour NFL Draft Marathon Leads into Round 1

ESPN will present the NFL Draft for the 39th consecutive year beginning with dual-network coverage of Round 1 on Thursday, April 26, at 8 p.m. ET from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

• On ESPN, NFL Draft host Trey Wingo anchors all of the action from picks 1-32 with NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr., Front Office Insider Louis Riddick and college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit, who will make his draft debut. Key contributors Todd McShay, Chris Mortensen, Adam Schefter and Suzy Kolber will also be part of the ESPN telecast.
• On ESPN2, Rece Davis will host College Football Primetime at The NFL Draft presented by Courtyard, a college-themed presentation of Round 1, which will include reactions and analysis. GameDay’s Desmond Howard and David Pollack, as well as college football analysts Joey Galloway and Booger McFarland will join Davis, with Tom Rinaldi and Maria Taylor making appearances. The show will originate from the NFL Draft Experience in Arlington with select guests, including college head coaches, joining throughout the show.
• ESPN reporters Josina Anderson (Cleveland), Dianna Russini (New York Giants), Sal Paolantonio (New York Jets) and Jeff Darlington (Buffalo) will provide updates from team facilities.

ESPN and ESPN2 will combine to present Rounds 2-3 on Friday, April 27, and then ESPN and ABC will both televise Rounds 4-7 on Saturday, April 28. Wingo will host Rounds 2-7 with Kiper, McShay, Riddick, Mortensen and Schefter. Release with more details.

Production highlights:

• 500+ player highlight packages
• 50 player personality bumps
• 40 cameras in Arlington, including two independent SupraCam two-point cable camera systems (one inside AT&T Stadium and one outside in the fan activation zone), six jib cameras, a Digiboom camera, three RF handheld cameras, three RF Steadicams, three robotic cameras and an aerial camera.
• 30 player live shots
• 25 specialty technical breakdowns with analysis from Herbstreit, Riddick and McShay
• Cameras in select NFL draft room team sites
• Cameras at draft viewing parties in Alabama, Georgia, Wyoming and select NFL cities
• Cameras with Raiders fans at Legends Sports Bar & Grill in Las Vegas
• Cameras at team-centric and iconic NFL city sites on Day 3
• Laura Rutledge will file player interviews for SportsCenter and other shows and conduct red carpet interviews for ESPN’s SportsCenter, College GameDay and social media platforms

ESPN Programming Originating from the NFL Draft in Arlington, Texas: 

*Golic and Wingo will also be simulcast on ESPN2 from 6-7 a.m. ET.

ADDITIONAL WAYS TO WATCH:

ESPN App and ESPN+
NFL Draft coverage on ESPN will be streamed live via the ESPN App on computers, smartphones, tablets and streaming devices to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider. In addition, the NFL Draft original series Draft Academy and all eight seasons of Jon Gruden’s QB Camp series are now available exclusively on ESPN+.

ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio will broadcast Rounds 1-3 of the 2018 NFL Draft with host Dari Nowkhah, Pro Football Hall of Famer and NFL Front Office Insider Bill Polian, reporter Ian Fitzsimmons and former NFL star and current ESPN New York 98.7FM host Chris Canty. The broadcast begins Thursday, April 26, at 7 p.m. ET and Friday, April 27, at 6 p.m. Freddie Coleman will host post-draft coverage Thursday and Friday at 11:30 p.m.

Additionally, ESPNLA 710 will broadcast an NFL Draft Special on Thursday, April 26, beginning at 6 p.m. ET with analysts Marcellus Wiley, Travis Rodgers and former NFL linebacker Kirk Morrison. The broadcast will provide a pick-by-pick breakdown, including detailed insight on where USC’s Sam Darnold and UCLA’s Josh Rosen are drafted.

The NFL Draft in Spanish
ESPN Deportes will offer a Spanish-language telecast of Round 1, while Round 2 will be available in Spanish via the ESPN App. The main set includes commentators Eduardo Varela, Pablo Viruega, and Miguel Pascal. Alba Galindo and Kenneth Garay will also contribute, and Carlos Nava will report from inside AT&T Stadium.

ESPN International
ESPN International will offer television coverage of the NFL Draft to more than 47 million households in 72 countries and territories throughout Spanish-speaking Latin America, Brazil, the Caribbean, Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands, Canada (on TSN) and Africa (ESPN on Kwese). In Mexico and Central America, ESPN will air all three days of the draft live, the first two days being a full Spanish-language production. Throughout Spanish-speaking South America, ESPN will air the first day of the draft live in Spanish. Brazil will air the first two days live in Portuguese. The Caribbean and Pac Rim will air all three days live. ESPN will simulcast its television coverage via its broadband players, WatchESPN in Brazil, Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Islands and ESPN Play in the Caribbean and Spanish-speaking Latin America.   

SURROUNDING COVERAGE:      

Leading into the 2018 NFL Draft, ESPN will present more than 40 hours of original NFL programming and 26 consecutive hours of NFL Draft coverage in advance of Round 1. NFL Live, College GameDay Built by The Home Depot and Golic and Wingo will originate from Arlington, Texas. Details:

College GameDay Built by The Home Depot
Rece Davis will host a pair NFL Draft editions of College GameDay Built by The Home Depot with analysts Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard and David Pollack. The live shows will originate from the NFL Draft Experience in Arlington on Thursday, April 26, and Friday, April 27, at 5 p.m. ET.

Golic and Wingo
Golic and Wingo – hosted by Mike Golic and Trey Wingo, with Mike Golic Jr. – will broadcast live Thursday, April 26, and Friday, April 27, from the 1010 Collins Events Center in Arlington, and will welcome guests live on-set. Broadcasts will be open to the public, with doors opening at 5 a.m. ET. Golic and Wingo airs from 6-10 a.m. weekdays on ESPN Radio and ESPNEWS, and can be heard on ESPNRadio.com and via the ESPN App, SiriusXM Channel 80, Apple Music, Slacker Radio and TuneIn.

ESPN.com and ESPN Insider
ESPN.com will provide wall-to-wall coverage, built around signature voices Mel Kiper Jr., Todd McShay, Kirk Herbstreit, Louis Riddick, Bill Barnwell, Mike Sando and others. All 32 NFL Nation team reporters will report live from team sites, providing analysis on every pick at ESPN.com.

ESPN.com’s highlights

• In real time: Via ESPN.com and the ESPN App, DraftCast will offer pick-by-pick data, team needs, player highlights, and analysis from Kiper and McShay as well as NFL Nation. Fans can watch the draft live via the ESPN App.
• NFL Nation reporters’ reactions to every pick and team-specific analysis all three days, including comprehensive team wrap-ups.
• Kiper’s daily winners and question marks and best available players in the upcoming rounds.
• McShay’s daily analysis of the best picks and best available players in the upcoming rounds.
• A mock draft that previews Day 2 of the draft with best possible picks for every team.
• Bill Barnwell grades the big trades.

ESPN.com’s pre-draft coverage + feature stories

• Kiper and McShay’s live 90-minute primetime SportsCenter Special: Mel & Todd’s Mock Draft (April 20 at 6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2) will be paired with content in real time on ESPN.com.
• SportsCenter Special: NFL Nation Mock Draft (April 24 at 7 p.m. ET, ESPN) will be paired with online content.
• SportsCenter Special: QB2QB with Russell Wilson: features on the four top draft prospects mentored by Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson.
• Features on draft stars including Shaquem Griffin, Orlando Brown, Vita Vea, Saquon Barkley, Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen.
• Popular “Grade A” mock drafts from Kiper and McShay preview what they would do if they could pick for each team.
• McShay’s evaluations on top needs for every team.
• Kiper and McShay’s top 300 prospects, along with their top prospects at every position (over 500 names).
• Blind test game: Play GM and pick the best QB out of a few stats, and then see how they compare to 2018 QBs.
• Final mock drafts from Kiper and McShay (released April 26).

ESPN.com’s post-draft staples

• April 28: Mel Kiper’s Draft Grades, which will serve as the foundation for SportsCenter Special: Draft Grades (April 29 at 8 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
• April 28: Todd McShay’s best picks for all 32 teams
• April 30-May 3: Kiper’s ‘Early Impact’ rookies for the 2018 NFL season
• May 3: McShay’s Way-Too-Early 2019 Mock Draft – among the most popular ESPN Insider stories of the year
• 10 days after the draft: Kiper’s 2019 Way-Too-Early Big Board

The Undefeated
Senior NFL writer Jason Reid will lead the NFL Draft coverage on The Undefeated – ESPN’s multiplatform content initiative exploring the intersections of sports, race and culture – from Arlington. Highlights:

• Domonique Foxworth profiles longtime Baltimore Ravens executive Ozzie Newsome, who will be participating in his final draft as a general manager. Foxworth played three seasons (2009-2011) with the Ravens under Newsome’s leadership.
• Reid ranks every black quarterback selected in the first round of the NFL Draft.
• The Undefeated presents Foxworth’s mock draft.
• In an ESPN The Magazine collaboration for The Undefeated, senior writer Mina Kimes and Foxworth write how 2018 NFL Draft prospect Lamar Jackson could change the NFL – if he gets the chance.

ESPN The Magazine
On the cover of ESPN The Magazine’s “Next” issue is UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen, a top NFL prospect in this year’s draft who wants to be “the winningest QB in NFL history.” Senior writer Sam Alipour sat with Rosen for an exclusive interview with the would-be franchise QB who goes deep on Tom Brady’s rings, the NCAA and being radioactive. The issue also features “Five for the Future,” with Mel Kiper Jr. breaking down five players who are projected to be impact players in the draft, and “Tiny Oral History” on Eagles fans who packed the NFL Draft in Philly and spent three days booing when every rival team made a pick—especially when Cowboys great Drew Pearson came onstage.

ESPN Marketing
In collaboration with CreativeWorks, ESPN’s Sports Marketing team debuted a new NFL Draft spot, which highlights the hope that all fans have for the future of their franchise going into the draft. It reminds fans that ESPN’s analysts inform them best if that hope is real or if their team’s selection might just be hype. The TV spot features the music track “Hype” by Drake, from his quadruple platinum album, Views.

ESPN Social Media
ESPN’s social media team will share videos, custom graphics, and unique storytelling across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Content will range from draft prospect highlight videos on SportsCenter channels to insightful stats on ESPN channels and insider perspectives on ESPN NFL accounts. Highlights:

• Ever wonder what draft day is like for a projected Top 10 pick? Keep an eye on ESPN’s social channels for an exclusive, all-access takeover.
• For fans looking to learn more about their favorite team’s newest addition, ESPN’s YouTube channel will have a treasure trove of more in-depth college football highlights.
• As an extension of Courtyard’s presentation of the NFL Draft, ESPN social media will have an Instagram Stories experience that takes followers behind-the-scenes from arrivals to the player green room.
• With College GameDay on-site, the familiar hijinks of the crew will extend to the College GameDay social channels.
• ESPN is taking the NFL Draft to Twitter live with On The Clock featuring Jason Fitz, Mina Kimes, Domonique Foxworth, Field Yates, and Mike Golic Jr. The show will watch and cover the entire first two days of the NFL Draft from the first pick to the conclusion of Friday’s selections. The cast of On The Clock will interact with fans and followers on Twitter while they watch the action live from Bristol, Conn.

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