ESPN at the 2010 NFL Draft April 22-24

By Ryan

Just in case you were planning to spend another beautiful spring Saturday sitting down and watching the first round of the NFL Draft, we’ve got some news for you: The Draft this year will begin with Round 1 on Thursday night in prime time on ESPN and NFL Network. Rounds 2-3 will be Friday in prime time, and Rounds 4-7 will be Saturday. Here’s the schedule on ESPN and ESPN2, with the full info from ESPN after the jump:

ESPN NFL Draft TV schedule (Apr. 22-25):

Thursday, April 22
3-4pm — SportsCenter Special: On the Clock, ESPN
4-4:30pm — NFL Live, ESPN
4:30-7:30pm — SportsCenter Special: On the Clock, ESPN
7:30-11pm — NFL Draft (Round 1), ESPN

Friday, April 23
3-4pm — SportsCenter Special: On the Clock, ESPN
4-4:30pm — NFL Live, ESPN
4:30-6pm — SportsCenter Special: On the Clock, ESPN
6-10:30pm — NFL Draft (Rounds 2-3), ESPN/switches to ESPN2

Saturday, April 24
9-10pm — SportsCenter Special: On the Clock, ESPN
10 a.m.-5pm — NFL Draft (Rounds 4-7), ESPN

Sunday, April 25
1-3pm — SportsCenter Draft Wrap-Up Special, ESPN

ESPN’s 2010 NFL Draft Telecast

Berman, Gruden, Kiper, Jackson and Young, Insiders Mortensen and Schefter Lead Primetime Coverage from Radio City Music Hall Thursday and Friday Nights

As the NFL Draft moves to its new Thursday and Friday night primetime slots for Rounds 1-3, Chris Berman, Jon Gruden, Mel Kiper, Jr., and a team of analysts, insiders and reporters will be a part of ESPN’s 31st consecutive year of televising the annual player selection meeting (April 22-24) from Radio City Music Hall in New York.  The 15 hours of planned live high definition coverage on ESPN and ESPN2 over three days (Thurs.-Sat.) will be supplemented by Draft-related content on multiple ESPN platforms, including ESPN Radio, ESPNEWS, ESPN.com, ESPN Mobile, ESPNU, ESPN The Magazine, ESPN International and more.

On Thursday, April 22 (Round 1) and Friday, April 23 (Rounds 2-3), Berman and Kiper, working their 30th and 27th NFL Drafts for ESPN, respectively, will team with analysts Gruden, Tom Jackson and Steve Young on the main set from Radio City, while senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen and NFL Insider Adam Schefter will report from an additional set location in the hall. Monday Night Football reporter Suzy Kolber will conduct interviews with Draft prospects at Radio City when they arrive, in the green room and after they are selected.

Draft coverage on both Thursday and Friday will begin at 3 p.m. with SportsCenter Special: On the Clock hosted by Monday Night Football’s Mike Tirico from the ESPN studios in Bristol, Conn., with analysts Cris Carter, Trent Dilfer, Kirk Herbstreit (Thursday only), Ron Jaworski, Keyshawn Johnson and ESPN Scouts Inc. director of college scouting Todd McShay. Opening round coverage of the NFL Draft telecast will begin Thursday, April 22 at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN from Radio City Music Hall. Day 2 (Rounds 2-3) will begin Friday, April 23 at 6 p.m. on ESPN and will continue on ESPN2 until the conclusion of Round 3.

Day 3 coverage will begin Saturday, April 24 at 9 a.m. on ESPN with a one-hour SportsCenter Special: On the Clock followed by all seven hours (10 a.m. – 5 p.m.) of Rounds 4-7 with NFL Live’s Trey Wingo hosting from Radio City with Gruden, Kiper, Jaworski, Mortensen and Schefter.  Kolber will co-host from Bristol with Tedy Bruschi, Trent Dilfer, Herm Edwards and McShay.

Sunday’s coverage will include a two-hour SportsCenter Draft Wrap Up Special at 1 p.m. on ESPN with Kolber and analysts Edwards, Kiper and McShay.

What’s New in 2010:

• New primetime format for first Rounds 1-3: Round 1 – Thurs., April 22 (7:30 p.m., ESPN), Rounds 2-3 – Fri., April 23 (6 p.m., ESPN/switches to ESPN2)

• Videoconferencing in high definition with all 32 teams using Glowpoint telepresence technology
• A 65-inch interactive touchscreen depth chart (McShay will utilize from Bristol)
• Live shots with some 25 NFL Draft prospects, capturing their reactions when they are being picked

• Sport Science host John Brenkus will offer unique athlete analysis on player acceleration, VO2 Max, word association, speed and agility, etc., based on tests conducted on 2010 NFL Draft prospects.

• As part of its extensive NFL Draft coverage, ESPN will dispatch reporters on Days 1 and 2 to team sites across the country for all the latest updates and reactions, including: Colleen Dominguez (San Francisco 49ers), Pedro Gomez (New Orleans Saints), Rachel Nichols (St. Louis Rams), Wendi Nix (Pittsburgh Steelers), Sal Paolantonio (Philadelphia Eagles), Michael Smith (Cleveland Browns), Shelley Smith (Seattle Seahawks) and Ed Werder (Washington Redskins).

ESPN Radio
Football Tonight host Freddie Coleman will anchor ESPN Radio’s 2010 NFL Draft coverage Thursday and Friday, April 22-23, from Radio City Music Hall with ESPN.com senior NFL writer John Clayton and former Washington Redskins General Manager Vinny Cerrato. ESPN Radio’s coverage will start Thursday at 7 p.m. (Round 1) and Friday at 6 p.m. (Rounds 2-3). ESPN Radio will also present news and updates Saturday from Rounds 4-7.

ESPNEWS
ESPNEWS will provide complete prime-time coverage of the NFL Draft beginning with Round 1 at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 22, with anchors Mike Hill and Dari Nowkhah, analysts Eric Allen and Qadry Ismail and reporter Joe Schad in ESPN’s Bristol studio. The coverage will continue at 6 p.m. Friday, April 23, with Rounds 2 and 3, anchored by Hill and Ryan Burr with Allen, Ismail and Schad. Both nights, the ESPNEWS crew will provide analysis of picks, live interviews with players who are chosen, reports from Radio City Music Hall and special graphics to allow fans to follow the action team-by-team. In addition, viewers will be invited to share their thoughts through polls and comments on ESPN.com’s SportsNation page and via Twitter. On Saturday, April 24, ESPNEWS’ Draft-related coverage will include more special Draft-tracking graphics, as well as updates, interviews and analysis throughout the day.

ESPN’s 2010 NFL Draft Lineup:

ESPN – Thursday and Friday nights:

Radio City Music Hall in New York City – Set #1: Chris Berman, Jon Gruden, Tom Jackson, Mel Kiper Jr., and Steve Young
Stage set: Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter
Reporter: Suzy Kolber
Bristol, Conn. – SportsCenter Special: On the Clock (3 p.m.): Mike Tirico, Cris Carter, Trent Dilfer, Kirk Herbstreit (Thurs. only), Ron Jaworski, Keyshawn Johnson and Todd McShay
NFL Team Sites – Reporters:  Colleen Dominguez (San Francisco 49ers), Pedro Gomez (New Orleans Saints), Rachel Nichols (St. Louis Rams), Wendi Nix (Pittsburgh Steelers), Sal Paolantonio (Philadelphia Eagles), Michael Smith (Cleveland Browns), Shelley Smith (Seattle Seahawks) and Ed Werder (Washington Redskins).

ESPN – Saturday:
Radio City Music Hall in New York City-
Set #1: Wingo, Gruden, Jaworski and Kiper
Stage set: Mortensen and Schefter
Bristol, Conn.  — SportsCenter Special: On the Clock (9-10 a.m.) and NFL Draft telecast: Kolber, Bruschi, Dilfer, Herm Edwards and McShay

ESPN – Sunday:
Bristol, Conn. — SportsCenter Draft Wrap Up Special (1-3 p.m.): Kolber, Edwards, Kiper and McShay

ESPN Radio:
Freddie Coleman will anchor the networks 2010 NFL Draft coverage from Radio City Music Hall, joined by ESPN.com senior NFL writer John Clayton and former Washington Redskins GM Vinny Cerrato.

ESPNEWS:
Anchors Mike Hill, Dari Nowkhah and Ryan Burr will be joined by analysts Eric Allen, Qadry Ismail and college football reporter Joe Schad to provide analysis and discussion from ESPN’s Bristol studio Thursday and Friday nights during the 2010 NFL Draft.