NFL Draft 2015: Latest Details, Changes and Comments on Chicago Event

The NFL has already made one significant change to the 2015 draft, moving it from New York to Chicago, but the league is going deeper than that to change the fan and viewer experience. 

Continue for updates.  

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ESPN Announces Full Draft Broadcast Team

Thursday, April 16

ESPN's Bill Hofheimer announced the network's broadcast team for the NFL Draft: 

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On Thursday, April 30, Chris Berman (covering his 35th draft) will host Round 1 with NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. (his 32nd), Super Bowl winning head coach and Monday Night Football analyst Jon Gruden, and two-time Super Bowl champion Ray Lewis. NFL Insiders Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter will report from another set inside the theatre and NFL Insiders host Suzy Kolber will conduct interviews on the gold carpet and inside the green room.

On Friday, May 1, NFL Live’s Trey Wingo will host Rounds 2 and 3 with Super Bowl-winning quarterback Trent Dilfer, and NFL Draft analysts Kiper and Todd McShay. Mortensen, Schefter and Kolber will also contribute to the telecast.

On Saturday, May 2, Wingo, Kiper, McShay and six-time National Football League Executive of the Year Bill Polian, a 2015 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, will cover Rounds 4-7 with Mortensen and Schefter.

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NFL Creates Full Fan Experience for Draft

Thursday, Mar. 19

According to NFL.com's Ian Rapoport, one of the biggest changes to the draft will take place on Day 3 with teams announcing their picks:

Since that might read like teams will be picking from their facilities around the country, fear not. NFL.com has set up a website answering questions about this new process, including the birth of what it's calling "Draft Town."

Basically, it's the fan festival event that will be located at Grant Park and Congress Plaza, and will include "Selection Square, where NFL representatives from all 32 teams will submit their player selections."

So if you're fortunate to be in Chicago at Draft Town on Saturday, you might see a general manager walking around with a player card, ready to make a pick when the time comes. The site does note that only a limited number of tickets will be available to fans for all three days. 

Also of note on the site, the Auditorium Theatre, where the draft will be held, will be open to fans on Saturday for photo opportunities. It's not specified exactly which people will be around to take pictures with, but one would assume it's likely to include team and league personnel. 

This lines up with a report from ESPN's Darren Rovell on March 2, in which Peter O'Reilly, the NFL's senior vice president of events, discussed the addition of 32 team tables during that draft for fans to hover around and meet with people who root for the same team. 

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We'll have screens inside those areas that reflect what is going on specifically with that team, including the social media conversation. Not only will a legend from each team give the pick, as they typically do in the second round, but they'll also make an appearance at the team chalet.

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Even though fans are going to watch and take part in the draft no matter what, since the NFL is an unstoppable beast and the draft is one of the biggest fan spectacles of the year, increasing fan activities is a positive move. 

The third day of the draft is usually an afterthought as far as the presentation on television. Watching ESPN or NFL Network, there will be some discussion of picks being made, but it's mostly a recap of what happened the first two days. 

There was no sizzle to the third day's presentation as it was, because fans could read recaps online and many television hits by analysts after the first two days simply rehashed what was said on Day 3.

At the very least, the new format and layout will make for a more entertaining experience for fans in Chicago and watching at home.