While most major sporting events have been cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak, football fans are eagerly awaiting the start of the league's next season this fall. Before then though, the general managers and other NFL team officials will have a chance to choose which college players will join their ranks in the league's first ever virtual draft.
New York City was the home of the NFL Draft for 50 years until the league began to hold the event in a new location each year back in 2015. This year's draft was originally scheduled to be held in Las Vegas before the decision was made to implement a virtual selection instead. Now the general managers of all 32 teams will make their picks either online or over the phone from their homes.
To make its virtual draft a reality, the NFL is working with its longtime partner Microsoft who has created a modified version of its Microsoft Teams application which will be used for most of the communication between the league and its teams, including player selection. Each team will have three people who have the authority to submit picks in case any technical issues arise.
Timing also plays a big role in the draft as teams have a set number of minutes to make their picks in each round. In Round 1 teams will have 10 minutes per selection, in Round 2 they'll have seven minutes, in Rounds 3-6 they will have five minutes and during Round 7 each team will only have four minutes to make their selections.
Over the course of three days, there will be 255 picks in the NFL Draft with 32 picks in the first round, 32 picks in the second round, 42 picks in the third round, 40 picks in the fourth round, 34 picks in the fifth round, 36 picks in the sixth round and 41 picks in the seventh round. As for the NFL Draft order, it was determined at the end of last season and it has also been modified to include supplemental picks. The Cincinnati Bengals will pick first in Round 1 followed by the Washington Redskins and the Detroit Lions.
Whether you're a college football fan waiting to see which of your favorite players from last season get called up to the big league this year or are just eager for the 2020-2021 NFL season to begin, we'll show you how to watch the NFL's virtual draft online from anywhere in the world.
2020 NFL Draft - where and when?
The 2020 NFL Draft will begin on Thursday, April 23 and run through Saturday, April 25. Round 1 will be held on Thursday, April 23 at 8 p.m. Eastern / 5 p.m. Pacific, Rounds 2 and 3 will be held on Friday, April 24 at 7 p.m. Eastern / 4 p.m. Pacific and Rounds 4-7 will be held on Saturday, April 25 at 12 p.m. Eastern / 9 a.m. Pacific.
Watch the NFL Draft from outside your country
We have all the details on how to watch the 2020 NFL Draft in the U.S., Canada, UK and Australia further down in this guide. However, if you want to watch the draft while traveling or live in a country with no official broadcast option, then you'll likely run into problems as your coverage will be geo-blocked.
That's where a VPN (Virtual Private Network) can really come in handy. They allow you to virtually change the IP address of your laptop, tablet or mobile to one that's back in your home country which will let you watch as if you were back there.
VPNs are incredibly easy to use and have the added benefit of providing you with an additional layer of security when surfing the web. There are also a lot of options but we recommend ExpressVPN as our top pick due to its speed, security and ease of use. The service can even be used on a wide array of operating systems and devices (e.g. iOS, Android, Smart TVs, Fire TV Stick, Roku, game consoles, etc). Sign up for ExpressVPN now and enjoy a 49% discount and 3 months FREE with an annual subscription. You can even test it out for yourself thanks to the service's 30-day money back guarantee. Looking for more options? Here are some other VPNs that are on sale right now.
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How to watch the NFL Draft in the U.S.
If you live in the US and want to watch this year's draft, you'll need either a cable package or a subscription to a streaming service that gives you access to ABC, ESPN, ESPN Deportes or the NFL Network. This is because the league's virtual draft will be broadcast simultaneously across all four of these networks between April 23-25.
You can watch Round 1 on Thursday, April 23 from 8 to 11:30 p.m. Eastern (5-8:30pm PT), Rounds 2-3 on Friday, April 24 from 7 to 11:30 p.m. Eastern (4-8:30pm PT) and Rounds 4-7 on Saturday, April 25 from 12 to 7 pm ET (9am-4pm PT). If you don't want to sign up for cable just to watch the 2020 NFL Draft, don't worry as we've listed all of the streaming services that will give you access to the networks you'll need to watch the draft live online below.
- Hulu with Live TV - $55 per month - Hulu with Live TV gives you access to ABC and ESPN but not to the NFL Network. The service also includes its own Hulu Originals and supports a wide variety of streaming devices.
- Sling TV - $20 for first month - While Sling TV doesn't give you access to ABC, the service's Orange plan includes ESPN and its Blue plan includes NFL Network. Alternatively, you can bundle the two plans together for $45 to have even more options to watch this year's NFL Draft. The service also lets you watch on three screens simultaneously and record live TV with its Cloud DVR.
- YouTube TV - $49.99 per month - YouTube TV gives you access to ABC and ESPN as well as over 70 other TV channels and a free 14-day trial is available.
- AT&T TV Now - $65 per month - AT&T TV Now may be more expensive than the competition but in addition to ABC and ESPN you also get access to HBO with your plan. The service allows you to watch over 45 live TV channels and you can also record up to 20 hours of content using its cloud DVR.
- fuboTV - $54.99 per month - fuboTV's standard plan includes NFL Network as well as over 90 other live TV channels but unfortunately you won't get access to ABC or ESPN. You also get the ability to watch two streams simultaneously and record up to 30 hours of content using the service's cloud DVR feature.
Sling TV is your best bet
A new Sling TV promo allows you to stream its 50+ channels for free each night from 5 p.m. until midnight ET. This means you can tune in and watch most of the draft at no cost to you, so be sure to get started with that now! Once you sign up, you have access every night until the promotion ends, so be sure to tune back in after to catch more great free TV. You don't even need a credit card to get started!
The package includes 50+ channels, a free DVR, on-demand programming, and much more. If you can't miss a moment of the draft, you can sign up for one month of Sling access for just $20.
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Live stream the NFL Draft in Canada
Canadian football fans that want to tune in to watch the 2020 NFL Draft on TV can do so on TSN and the network will show all three days of coverage on TSN3. However, if you'd rather stream the draft online, the streaming service DAZN has you covered. DAZN costs either $20 per month or $150 for the year but the service does offer a one-month free trial if you want to test it out for yourself.
How to stream the NFL Draft in the UK
British fans of American football will be able to watch the 2020 NFL Draft live on Sky Sports Action beginning at 1am BST on Friday. If you're already a Sky Sports subscriber, you can also live stream the event using the Sky Go app.
However, if you're not a Sky Sports subscriber, you can still watch the draft on NOW TV with a Sky Sports Week Pass for £14.99. NOW TV also lets you stream this year's draft on your computer, smartphone, smart TV or other streaming devices.
Watch the NFL Draft in Australia
If you live in Australia and have a cable subscription, you'll be able to watch this year's NFL Draft on Foxtel via ESPN. The network will show the draft on Friday from 10am to 1:30pm AEDT (Thursday's coverage) as well as at 5pm to 8:30pm AEDT (Friday's coverage). Rounds 4-7 will be shown on Saturday from 4pm to 8:30pm.
Alternatively, the over-the-top service Kayo Sports will also show the 2020 NFL Draft. The service costs between $25 and $35 per month depending on the package you choose but new customers can take advantage of Kayo Sports' 14-day Free Trial to watch this year's draft.
NFL Draft 2020 Order for first round
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Washington D.C.
- Detroit Lions
- New York Giants
- Miami Dolphins
- L.A. Chargers
- Carolina Panthers
- Arizona Cardinals
- Jacksonville Jaguars
- Cleveland Browns
- New York Jets
- Las Vegas Raiders
- San Francisco 49ers
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Denver Broncos
- Atlanta Falcons
- Dallas Cowboys
- Miami Dolphins
- Las Vegas Raiders
- Jacksonville Jaguars
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Minnesota Vikings
- New England Patriots
- New Orleans Saints
- Minnesota Vikings
- Miami Dolphins
- Seattle Seahawks
- Baltimore Ravens
- Tennessee Titans
- Green Bay Packers
- San Francisco 49ers
- Kansas City Chiefs
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