Report ESPN, NFL Network Won't Tip Picks for First 2 Rounds of 2018 NFL Draft

Reporters for ESPN and the NFL Network reportedly won't post picks for the first two rounds of the 2018 NFL draft on social media before they're announced on television. 

Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated provided the update Thursday.

The agreement doesn't include Fox Sports, which is also broadcasting the draft this year, or any other news outlets, though. Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports is one of the insiders who's provided early details about selections in the past for those who don't want to wait until commissioner Roger Goodell reads the card.

It does leave ESPN's Adam Schefter and the NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, two of the league's most prominent news breakers, handcuffed for the first two rounds.

The need for commercials and conversation about each of the early picks often causes the television announcements to fall behind the actual draft pace. In the past, there was some backlash on social media when reporters started tweeting the picks before they were officially unveiled.

In turn, the NFL started asking its broadcast partners to limit those tweets in recent years. ESPN's Seth Markman explained the reason the network went along with the decision in 2015, per Ed Sherman of Poynter.

"We're not doing this for journalistic reasons," Markman said. "We're doing this because viewers told us this is what they want."

So, while the suspense should be mostly maintained once again during this year's draft, there should still be ways to find out the picks early for those too anxious to wait.

The 2018 draft kicks off April 26 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.