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It's here. The day of days where we can proudly boast to our children... we made it to the NFL Draft. There will be NO MORE MOCK DRAFTS, and we're celebrating that alone. Sure there will be the occasional 2016 NFL mock draft that surfaces on Sunday, but that allows us the opportunity to point and laugh at such traffic-whoring.
Oh, and college players will join the NFL.
Here's a quick "all you need to know" for the 2015 NFL draft.
MEDIA
TELEVISION: ESPN and the NFL Network
RADIO: SiriusXM NFL Radio and ESPN Radio
LIVE STREAM: NFL.com/Watch (mobile phones with Verizon can use NFL Mobile). The draft is also available through WatchESPN.com, WatchESPN app and through Xbox 360, Xbox One, Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast and Roku (per SI).
ANNOUNCERS
ROUND 1
ESPN: Chris Berman hosts with Jon Gruden and Mel Kiper Jr. as the analysts. Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen will be there, as will Suzy Kolber who will be doing interviews.
NFL Network: Rich Eisen hosts the main desk with Mike Mayock, Steve Mariucci and David Shaw as analysts. Marshall Faulk, Michael Irvin, Kurt Warner, Charles Davis and Daniel Jeremiah will be there, as will NFL Insider Ian Rapoport and Deion Sanders and Melissa Stark for interviews.
ROUNDS 2-3
ESPN: Trey Wingo will host Friday with Trent Dilfer and Todd McShay joining Kiper, Mortensen and Kolber.
NFL Network: Eisen hosts the main desk with Davis, Mayock, and Charlie Strong. Chris Rose, Jeremiah, LaDainian Tomlinson, and Brian Billick will be on hand.
ROUNDS 4-7
ESPN: Wingo hosts with Kiper, McShay, Mortensen, Schefter and Bill Polian.
NFL Network: Eisen hosts with Mayock, Davis and Jeremiah.
LINKS
+ NFL Mock Draft database
+ Bengals pro days and visits
+ Draft profiles
+ Bengals draft rumors/news
NOTES
SCHEDULE: The first round will begin on Thursday (April 30) at 8 p.m. The second and third round will begin at 7 p.m. on Friday with the final four rounds (4-7) starting at noon on Saturday.
NO MORE SPOILS: According to Richard Deitsch with Sports Illustrated, ESPN and the NFL Network are restricting their staff from spoiling picks before they are announced by Roger Goodell.
"We want to keep the suspense of the draft," ESPN senior coordinating producer Seth Markman told Deitsch. "This is purely listening to the viewers and what they want. It was overwhelming that our consumers, our viewers, our fans do not want us to spoil the draft experience. I know some of our competitors will tweet picks, but they are not telecasting the draft. I am sure there is a segment of the population that wants it as soon as possible, but our responsibility is to our viewers. It’s not some big journalism discussion in my mind. It’s ‘I don’t like angering our viewers’."
BENGALS PICKS: The Bengals will pick nine times, with multiple selections in the third and fourth rounds (via compensatory picks). Here's the Bengals draft grid:
ROUND | PICK | OVERALL | NOTES |
1 | 21 | 21 | |
2 | 21 | 53 | |
3 | 21 | 85 | |
3 | 35 | 99 | Compensatory |
4 | 21 | 120 | |
4 | 36 | 135 | Compensatory |
5 | 21 | 157 | |
6 | 21 | 197 | |
7 | 21 | 238 |
SELECTION TIMES:
DATE | START | ROUNDS | SELECTION TIME |
Thursday, April 30 |
8:00 PM ET | Round 1 | 10 Minutes |
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Friday, May 1 |
7:00 PM ET | Round 2 | 7 Minutes |
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Round 3* | 5 Minutes | |
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Saturday, May 2 |
12:00 PM ET | Rounds 4-6* | 5 Minutes |
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Round 7* | 4 Minutes | |
* All compensatory selections in rounds 3-7 will be 4 minutes each |
CONFIRMED ATTENDANCE
1) | Vic Beasley | DE | Clemson | 15) | DeVante Parker | WR | Louisville | |
2) | La’el Collins | T | Louisiana State | 16) | Andrus Peat | T | Stanford | |
3) | Landon Collins | S | Alabama | 17) | Breshad Perriman | WR | Central Florida | |
4) | Bud Dupree | LB | Kentucky | 18) | Shane Ray | DE | Missouri | |
5) | Cameron Erving | T | Florida State | 19) | Brandon Scherff | T | Iowa | |
6) | Dante Fowler, Jr. | DE | Florida | 20) | Danny Shelton | DT | Washington | |
7) | Melvin Gordon | RB | Wisconsin | 21) | Devin Smith | WR | Ohio State | |
8) | Randy Gregory | DE | Nebraska | 22) | Donovan Smith | T | Penn State | |
9) | Todd Gurley | RB | Georgia | 23) | Jaelen Strong | WR | Arizona State | |
10) | D.J. Humphries | T | Florida | 24) | Laken Tomlinson | G | Duke | |
11) | Kevin Johnson | CB | Wake Forest | 25) | Trae Waynes | CB | Michigan State | |
12) | Byron Jones | CB | Connecticut | 26) | Kevin White | WR | West Virginia | |
13) | Benardrick McKinney | LB | Mississippi State | 27) | Leonard Williams | DT | Southern California | |
14) | Cedric Ogbuehi | T | Texas A&M |
NFL LEGENDS
For the fifth year in a row, the NFL has invited former players to announce their respective teams' second-round draft selections. Former running back Ickey Woods is scheduled to make that announcement for the Bengals this year. Here's the complete list:
Team | Player |
Arizona Cardinals | Adrian Wilson |
Atlanta Falcons | Todd McClure |
Baltimore Ravens | Duane Starks |
Buffalo Bills | Jim Kelly |
Carolina Panthers | Pat Terrell |
Chicago Bears | Dick Butkus |
Cincinnati Bengals | Ickey Woods |
Cleveland Browns | Hanford Dixon |
Dallas Cowboys | Darren Woodson |
Denver Broncos | Rick Upchurch |
Detroit Lions | Chris Spielman |
Green Bay Packers | Donald Driver |
Houston Texans | Eric Brown |
Indianapolis Colts | Bill Brooks |
Jacksonville Jaguars | Greg Jones |
Kansas City Chiefs | Gary Green |
Miami Dolphins | Dwight Stephenson |
Minnesota Vikings | E.J. Henderson |
New England Patriots | Ty Law |
New Orleans Saints | Jon Stinchcom |
New York Giants | Shaun Williams |
New York Jets | Emerson Boozer |
Oakland Raiders | Willie Brown |
Philadelphia Eagles | Jon Runyan |
Pittsburgh Steelers | Mel Blount |
St. Louis Rams | Pisa Tinoisamo |
San Diego Chargers | Anthony Miller |
San Francisco 49ers | Charles Haley |
Seattle Seahawks | Kenny Easley |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Mike Alstott |
Tennessee Titans | Michael Roos |
Washington | Brig Owens |