NFL Draft's New 8-Minute Picks: Faster, More Dramatic

0:00It's April 22nd, NFL news today starts now, AI powered and always on. The NFL draft kicks off Thursday night at 8 p.m. Eastern time with a big tweet to the first round. Teams now get just 8 minutes per pick, down from 10. That two-minute shave aims to speed things up and cut the round from last year's nearly 4 hours to under 3. Teams are buzzing about how this hits trade hard. Negotiating deals, calling the league and finalizing everything in 8 minutes? If a trade happens late, the new team on the clock inherits whatever times left, no reset. GMs like the Jaguars Khan say they've had more pre-draft talks to lock in trade values early so they can move fast when accounts. Fans remember the chaos if clocks run out, like the 2003 Vikings at pick 7. They missed the deadline chasing a trade, so Jacksonville jumped in at 7, Carolina at 8, and Minnesota slid to 9. Next team just swoops your spot, no mercy. Other rounds stay the same, 7 minutes in round 2, 5 from 3 to 6, 4 in the finale.

1:04The league's been trimming first round time for years. 15 minutes back in the day dragged to over 6 hours once, then 10 starting in 2. 2008, now 8 to keep the pace fresh. Expect either fewer trades from the rush or more from all that prep work. Either way, Thursday's first round could deliver real drama as teens adapt on the fly. 7 minutes back in the day.