Every spring, NFL teams take turns choosing the best college players. This is the NFL Draft, and it’s how most teams build their rosters. Here’s how it works, step by step.
The short version
- The draft has 7 rounds. Every team gets one pick per round, plus or minus trades and bonus picks.
- The worst team picks first and the Super Bowl champion picks last.
- Teams can trade picks with each other, even during the draft.
- Drafted players sign rookie contracts with the team that picked them.
- The 2027 NFL Draft is April 29 to May 1, 2027, in Washington, D.C.
Who can be drafted?
A player can enter the draft if he has been out of high school for at least three years. That’s why most players are college juniors or seniors. Players who still have college eligibility left can "declare" early for the draft.
How the draft order is decided
The order is the same in every round:
- Teams that missed the playoffs (picks 1–18): sorted from the worst record to the best. The team with the worst record picks first.
- Playoff teams (picks 19–32): sorted by how far they went. Teams that lost in the Wild Card round pick first, then Divisional round losers, then the conference championship losers.
- Super Bowl loser: pick 31.
- Super Bowl winner: pick 32.
If two teams have the same record, the team with the easier strength of schedule (its opponents won fewer games) picks first.
How many picks are there?
There are 32 teams and 7 rounds, so there are 224 regular picks. On top of those, the league hands out up to 32 compensatory picks each year. That’s why a typical draft has around 257 picks in total. The last pick has a fun nickname: "Mr. Irrelevant."
What is a compensatory pick?
Compensatory picks are bonus picks from rounds 3 to 7. They go to teams that lost more or better free agents than they signed the year before. The NFL uses a formula based on players’ salaries and playing time. Teams can also receive third-round picks for developing minority head coaches and general managers who are hired by other teams.
How long does each team have to pick?
- Round 1: 10 minutes per pick
- Round 2: 7 minutes per pick
- Rounds 3–6: 5 minutes per pick
- Round 7: 4 minutes per pick
If a team runs out of time, it can still pick later, but the next team can jump ahead.
Trades: why the order changes
Teams trade picks all the time. A team that loves a player might trade two picks to move up. A team happy to wait might move down and collect extra picks. Teams can also trade future picks (for example, a 2028 first-round pick) or trade picks for veteran players.
That’s why you often see notes like "Jets (from Cowboys)" in a mock draft: the Jets own a pick that originally belonged to Dallas.
The three days of the draft
| Day | What happens |
|---|---|
| Thursday night | Round 1 |
| Friday night | Rounds 2 and 3 |
| Saturday | Rounds 4 to 7 |
The draft is shown live on TV (ESPN, ABC and NFL Network) and is a big public event in the host city.
What happens after the draft?
- Rookie contracts: First-round picks sign four-year contracts, and the team has an option to add a fifth year. Players picked in later rounds sign four-year deals.
- Undrafted free agents: Players who weren’t picked can sign with any team right after the draft. Many future stars started this way.
Quick answers
When is the 2027 NFL Draft? April 29 to May 1, 2027.
Where is the 2027 NFL Draft? Washington, D.C.
How many rounds are in the NFL Draft? Seven.
Who picks first? The team with the worst regular-season record.
Want to see who might go first? Read our 2027 NFL mock draft.
