Getting Ready for Green Bay: ESPN Platforms Ramp Up NFL Draft Coverage with Weekly Specials, Exclusive Content and the Return of Draft-Centric Shows Leading into Next Month’s Signature Event
- Several SportsCenter Specials to Air Preceding NFL Draft Week; Hey Rookie: Welcome to the NFL, The Draft: Featured, NFL Matchup and ESPN+ Exclusive Shows Return
- Kiper Jr., Yates, Miller and Reid Join ESPN NFL Analysts Across all ESPN Studio, Digital and Audio Platforms
- Top Prospects Shadowed Through Coverage of Pro Days and Documentary Programming
- Prospect Big Boards, Player Comparisons and Positions Rankings Accompany Mock Drafts on ESPN.com, ESPN App and ESPN+
In anticipation of the three-day 2025 NFL Draft kicking off one month from today (April 24), ESPN will amplify
content across different platforms, extending the network’s longstanding commitment to covering all aspects and angles of the NFL’s marquee offseason event.
Over the next month, ESPN will bring fans seven SportsCenter Specials, 13 NFL Draft-related studio shows and 10 First Draft podcast episodes. All programming is in addition to ongoing ESPN.com Draft reporting, ESPN’s robust daily studio show lineup adding to the Draft programming which began in January.
Each week, at least one new SportsCenter Special will debut – this includes new editions of SportsCenter Special: Mock Draft, which follows a new mock draft revealed first on ESPN.com. Kicking off April
and new this year, SportsCenter Special: NFL Draft Countdown (Tue, April 1, 8 p.m., ET ESPN2) will bring all four commentators who sit at ESPN’s main NFL draft desk together: host Mike Greenberg, NFL Draft senior analyst Mel Kiper Jr. and NFL analysts Booger McFarland and Louis Riddick.
Complementing the various SportsCenter Specials, additional shows Hey Rookie: Welcome to the NFL – following the top prospects Abdul Carter, Ashton Jeanty, Mykel Williams and national champion, QB Will Howard –The Draft: Featured, NFL Matchup and a plethora of ESPN+ exclusive programs will also be available to fans. These offerings will be intertwined with the NFL Draft news, insights and analysis through ESPN’s NFL Live (4 p.m.), SportsCenter (multiple editions), Get Up (8 a.m.), First Take (10 a.m.) and the Pat McAfee Show (Noon).
Throughout the week of April 14, ESPN and NFL Network will once again collaborate on an NFL Draft crossover, where commentators appear on the opposite network. This tradition, dating back to the 2019 NFL Draft, has become a staple of Draft season.
Continuing with top 10 prospect, QB Cam Ward’s Pro Day at Miami (Mon., March 24), SEC Network and ACC Network will bring fans a handful of Pro Days live between now and March 28. Additional top 10 prospects will be covered on ESPN as NFL Live and SportsCenter will highlight top 7 ranked prospects, Travis Hunter, Shedeur Sanders, Carter and Tyler Warren, as part of Colorado and Penn State’s Pro Days.
During the lead-up to the NFL Draft, the opinions and reporting of ESPN’s NFL Draft analysts, Kiper Jr. and NFL Draft analyst Field Yates, along with NFL Draft analyst Matt Miller and Jordan Reid can be found at any time of day, through not only ESPN’s NFL Draft studio show programming, but also on ESPN podcasts/radio, ESPN.com, the ESPN App and ESPN+.
The 2025 NFL Draft will be ESPN’s 46th consecutive year airing the event as the network broadcasts all 257 picks live from Green Bay, April 24-26, across ESPN and ABC. Additional details can be found below.
Hours of SportsCenter Specials Added to Lineup; ESPN NFL Draft Analysts Make Their Picks
SportsCenter Specials will be scattered across ESPN platforms over the next month with five new editions of SportsCenter Special: Mock Draft focusing on the latest mock drafts from Kiper Jr., Yates, NFL front office insider Mike Tannenbaum and ESPN NFL Nation reporters. SportsCenter host Kevin Negandhi will anchor each SportsCenter Special, with Miller, Reid and NFL senior insider Adam Schefter contributing (Laura Rutledge will host the April 15 edition). All editions will air on ESPN2 and will be available to stream on ESPN+ following the linear premiere.
SportsCenter Special: NFL Draft Countdown and QB Draft Class of 2025 will round out the various SportsCenter Specials as both episodes preview the upcoming event and quarterbacks, respectively. A rotating cast of Kiper Jr., McFarland, Riddick, Greenberg, Miller, Reid and Yates will make appearances.
Previously aired iterations are available on ESPN+ and can be found here. The full schedule for all SportsCenter Specials can be found here:
| Date | Time (ET) | Mock Draft | Platform |
| Tue, Mar 25 | 5 p.m. | Mike Tannenbaum | ESPN2/ESPN+ |
| Tue, Apr 1 | 8 p.m. | NFL Draft Countdown | ESPN2/ESPN+ |
| Wed, Apr 2 | 5 p.m. | Field Yates 4.0 | ESPN2/ESPN+ |
| Tue, Apr 8 | 3 p.m. | Mel Kiper Jr.’s 4.0 Presented by Nationwide | ESPN2/ESPN+ |
| Wed, Apr 9 | 5 p.m. | QB Draft Class of 2025 Presented by Nationwide | ESPN2/ESPN+ |
| Tue, Apr 15 | 5 p.m. | Combined Three-Round Presented by Nationwide | ESPN2/ESPN+ |
| Tue, Apr 22 | 3 p.m. | NFL Nation Presented by Nationwide | ESPN2/ESPN+ |
NFL Draft’s Most Sought After Stars Spotlighted
Returning to ESPN2, Hey Rookie: Welcome to the NFL will follow projected first-rounders Carter (PSU DE), Jeanty (Boise State RB) and Williams (Georgia DE) in addition to Howard (Ohio State QB), through four, 30-minute episodes, providing fans with a genuine, documentary-style, exclusive look behind the scenes at the NFL Scouting Combine, pre-draft activities and NFL Draft day experiences for these four prospects.
In his latest Big Board, Kiper Jr. has Jeanty, Carter and Williams ranked fourth, second and 16th respectively, with Howard ranked as the fifth-best available quarterback. The full prospect ranking list can be found here.
The full schedule for Hey Rookie: Welcome to the NFL can be found here:
| Episode | Date | Time (ET) | Platform |
| 1 | Mon, Apr 7 | 7 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| 2 | Mon, Apr 14 | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| 3 | Tues, Apr 22 | 7 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| 4 | Tues, Apr 28 | 9:30 p.m. | ESPN2 |
Additional NFL Draft -centric studio shows making their ESPN return:
- The Draft: Featured: A compilation of fan-favorite, engaging features from the 2024 college football season (Mon, March 31, 9 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., ESPN2)
- NFL Matchup: Sal Paolantonio and Greg Cosell will analyze Draft prospects in the context of the NFL game (Mon, April 21, 7 p.m., ESPN2/ESPN+)
Exclusive ESPN+ Shows Hit a Plethora of NFL Draft Topics
Five episodes of exclusive NFL Draft shows are back on ESPN+, offering fans exclusive insights and in-depth analysis on various aspects of the NFL Draft, in a concise and digestible format. The collection of shows includes Draft 101, Quarterbacks, Sleepers, Mel Kiper Jr.’s Favorites and Draft Film Room. Each episode will be available to stream on ESPN+ beginning Mon, April 14.
ESPN College Networks Turn Attention to NFL Pro Days
Extensive coverage of upcoming NFL Pro Days for prospects coming from Miami (QB Ward), Texas (CB Jahdae Barron), LSU (OT/G Will Campbell) and Ole Miss (QB Jaxson Dart) will be documented by SEC Network, ACC Network and throughout multiple editions of SportsCenter.
The full schedule for all SEC and ACC Pro Days can be found here:
| Date | Time (ET) | NFL Pro Days | Platform |
| Mon, Mar 24 | 4 p.m. | ACC Huddle: Miami Pro Day | ACC Network |
| Tue, Mar 25 | 2 p.m. | SEC Now: Texas Football Pro Day | SEC Network |
| Wed, Mar 26 | 11:30 a.m. | SEC Now: LSU Football Pro Day | SEC Network |
| Fri, Mar 28 | Noon | SEC Now: Ole Miss Football Pro Day | SEC Network |
ESPN in Attendance in Boulder, State College to Report on Top Prospect’s Pro Days
Riddick and Yates will bring fans real-time information on NFL Live and SportsCenter from Penn State (Fri, March 28) and Colorado (Fri, April 4) Pro Days, the schools of Kiper Jr.’s first, second, fifth and seventh-ranked prospects in this year’s NFL Draft.
ESPN.com Provides Wide Array of NFL Draft Content 24/7
In addition to housing every 2025 mock draft, prospect rankings and position rankings list, fans can visit ESPN.com for constantly updated information and analysis from NFL Draft experts and reporters. Highlights of NFL draft offerings include:
- Weekly draft buzz notebooks from Miller, Reid and Yates
- Mel Kiper Jr.’s favorite 2025 prospects at every position
- NFL analyst Ben Solak on how every team could ace the draft
- NFL Nation reporters give intel on all 32 teams before the draft
- NFL analyst Matt Bowen picks the best 2025 prospect at nearly 100 different skills
ESPN Audio Remains Home to First Draft Podcast
ESPN’s First Draft podcast continues to be a go-to resource for NFL Draft analysis. Co-hosted by Kiper Jr., Greenberg and Yates, the podcast releases new episodes twice a week (Mondays and Thursdays). Previously released episodes of First Draft can be found here.
NFL Draft – ESPN, ABC and NFL Network from April 24-26
Live from Green Bay, all three days of the NFL Draft will air on ESPN and ABC for the seventh consecutive year, with the two networks having distinct telecasts on the first two nights (Thursday, April 24, 8 p.m. and Friday, April 25, 7 p.m.) and then ABC simulcasting ESPN’s coverage on the final day (Saturday, April 26, Noon). NFL Network will also televise the NFL Draft in its entirety.
ESPN studio shows will have a large presence in Green Bay, documenting all the festivities around the NFL draft. Additional details on ESPN’s NFL Draft week programming will be announced in the coming weeks.
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