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Come Fan with UsTuesday, June 30, 2026

NFL Draft 2016: Dates, schedule, times, order and more

The 2016 NFL Draft is upon us. The wait is nearly over.

The 2016 NFL Draft is almost here, and as is now the norm, be prepared for three consecutive days of rapid-fire picks and far, far too much analysis. Both the first and second overall picks in this year's draft have been traded to the Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles, respectively.

Los Angeles gave the Tennessee Titans their first-round pick, two second-round picks and a third-round pick in 2016 on top of their first- and third-round picks of 2017 to move up to the top spot. The Eagles gave up 2016 first-, third- and fourth-round picks, their 2017 first-round pick and a 2018 second-round pick to move up to the second slot, previously occupied by the Cleveland Browns.

In what started out as a “weak” quarterback class but is now considered strong at the top (because that’s just how the pre-draft process works, folks), the trades are rumored and reported to be for the top two quarterbacks in Jared Goff of Cal and Carson Wentz of North Dakota State. It wouldn’t be the most shocking thing in the world if some of the other top players -- offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil, defensive back Jalen Ramsey or someone like that -- went first or second, but it’s unlikely.

This year’s draft will take place at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, Ill. The draft gets underway on Thursday, April 28 with the first round beginning in prime time. Rounds two and three are set for the following day, while rounds four through seven will wrap up on Saturday, the final day of the draft.

If you’re playing catch up, we’ve got some resources for you to check out below:

Top 300 players big board by Dan Kadar
NFL Draft positional rankings by Dan Kadar
SB Nation NFL bloggers mock draft
NFL Draft scouting reports by Stephen White

The first round of the draft will begin at 8 p.m. on Thursday, and will run through the end of that round. Rounds 2 and 3 will begin at 7 p.m. on Friday, and the final rounds will get underway at noon on Saturday. Television coverage will be carried on both the NFL Network and ESPN.

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How to Watch the 2016 NFL Draft

Round 1

Date: Thurs., April 28

Time: 8 p.m. ET

TV: NFL Network, ESPN

Rounds 2-3

Date: Fri., April 29

Time: 7 p.m. ET

TV: NFL Network, ESPN

Rounds 4-7

Date: Sat., April 30

Time: 12 p.m. ET

TV: NFL Network, ESPN

NFL Draft: How compensatory picks work

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