The NFL just officially announced that the draft next April will be spread over three days -- the first round on Thursday night, April 22, the second and third rounds on the night of April 23 and the rest of the draft April 24. The draft starts at 7:30 p.m. eastern on Thursday, 6:30 p.m. eastern on Friday and 10 a.m. eastern on Saturday (which makes it 4:30, 3:30 and 7 a.m. here in Arizona). It's all about the prime time TV, something the NFL was aiming at for a while.
"We continue to look for ways to make the draft more accessible to more fans," commissioner Roger Goodell said in the release. "Moving the first round to prime time on Thursday night will make the first round of the draft available to fans on what is typically the most-watched night of television."