ESPN’s Countdown to Las Vegas: Mel Kiper’s Newest Mock Draft Ramps up NFL Draft Multi-Platform Programming and Analysis; Several Specials to Air Over the Next Month

- Six Mock Drafts in Five Weeks with Accompanying Television Specials on ESPN2
- ESPN+ Articles On-Demand Video Content Featuring Draft Analysts Kiper, Todd McShay, Matt Miller and Jordan Reid Leading Up to NFL Draft
- SEC Network and ACC Network Pro Day Coverage, Hey Rookie, The Draft: Featured, NFL Matchup: Draft Special and You’ve Got Mel and Todd Return
ESPN’s senior NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper’s newest mock draft was released this week on ESPN+, beginning a stretch of six mock drafts in five weeks as ESPN ramps up its multi-platform 2022 NFL Draft coverage. Accompanying the mock draft, Kiper Mock 3.0 debuted, a television special centered on Kiper’s projected first round picks, and is now available on-demand via ESPN+.
ESPN will have five additional mock draft television specials between now and the week prior to the NFL Draft (March 23 – April 20), with Tannenbaum Mock 1.0 on March 30, McShay Mock 4.0 on April 5, Kiper Mock 4.0 on April 13 and Kiper & McShay Three Round Mock on April 19. Each will follow a similar rollout, with the mock draft released digitally on ESPN+ in the morning, followed by a television program that same day. Each of the mock draft specials will air on ESPN2 at 5 p.m. ET with the exception of Kiper & McShay Three Round Mock which will air at 7 p.m.
In addition to airing on ESPN2, all of Kiper and senior NFL Draft analyst, Todd McShay’s mock drafts will be available on demand on ESPN+ after the premiere on ESPN2. Currently, Kiper 1.0 and 2.0, as well as McShay’s first three mock drafts (all released between January and mid-March) are available on ESPN+.
Beyond their mock drafts, Kiper and McShay will have additional NFL Draft insight, including Kiper’s annual look at his favorite prospects at every position and McShay’s All-Satellite Team. ESPN’s newest NFL Draft analysts, Matt Miller and Jordan Reid, will publish weekly Draft notebooks and their own mock drafts. All of this, and more, will be available via ESPN+ digital.
Kiper, McShay, Miller and Reid will also appear on ESPN’s programing, including: NFL Live, Get Up, SportsCenter and This Just In leading up to the Draft.
In addition to mock draft specials, and insight from Draft analysts, over the next few weeks, ESPN will have more Draft content, both digitally on ESPN+ and specials on ESPN2/ESPN+. Highlights include:
- ESPN’s college networks will cover Pro Days, with SEC Network at Ole Miss on March 23 (3 p.m.) and Alabama on March 30 (1 p.m.) and ACC Network at North Carolina on March 28 (10 a.m.). Pro Days of additional schools will be covered on SportsCenter.
- The Draft: Featured, a two-episode show with features and discussion about top Draft prospects from this past college football season on College GameDay and ESPN studio programming. Both episodes will air Thursday, March 24 (7 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.) on ESPN2.
- Hey Rookie: Welcome to the NFL, a four-episode series by NFL Films, chronicles the Combine, pre-Draft and Draft day experiences of five prospects: Evan Neal (OL, Alabama), Derek Stingley Jr. (CB, LSU), Jahan Dotson (WR, Penn State), Nik Bonitto (LB, Oklahoma) and Bailey Zappe (QB, Western Kentucky).
- The series will air over the course of four weeks on ESPN2, beginning Wednesday, April 13 (7 p.m.) and continuing on three consecutive Tuesdays: April 19 (8:30 p.m.), April 26 (9:30 p.m.) and May 3 (5:30 p.m.).
- NFL Matchup: Draft Special will have Sal Paolantonio, Matt Bowen and Greg Cosell analyzing Draft prospects in the context of the NFL game. The show will air Tuesday, April 19 on ESPN2 (9:30 p.m.) and then be available on ESPN+.
- You’ve Got Mel and Todd, featuring Kiper and McShay answering mailbag questions from fans about the Draft, will air Thursday, April 21 on ESPN2 (7 p.m.).
- NFL Live, ESPN’s staple NFL show, will continue to air Monday-Friday (4 p.m.) on ESPN throughout the lead-up to the Draft. Laura Rutledge will host with analysts, Mina Kimes, Dan Orlovsky, Ryan Clark, Marcus Spears and Keyshawn Johnson, appearing throughout the month.
NFL Draft – ESPN and ABC from April 28-30
All three days of the NFL Draft will air on ESPN and ABC for the fourth consecutive year, with the two networks having distinct telecasts on the first two nights (Thursday, April 28 and Friday, April 29) and then ABC simulcasting ESPN’s coverage on the final day (Saturday, April 30). NFL Network will also televise the NFL Draft in its entirety. More details on NFL Draft coverage, including programming the week of the NFL Draft, will be announced in the coming weeks.
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