2024 NFL draft 101: What it's about and how it works
MIAMI - Three days away from the start of the NFL draft and the Miami Dolphins are on the clock.
So how does the NFL draft work and what's it all about?
CBS News Miami's Samantha Rivera and Najahe Sherman take us to class for NFL Draft 101.
So how many picks are there in the first round and how long is the NFL draft?
The NFL draft takes place over three days (Thursday through Saturday) each year. There are 32 picks in the first round on Thursday. The Dolphins have the 21st pick this year.
The next two rounds take place on Friday. The Dolphins have a 2nd round pick.
The Dolphins will have four more picks on Saturday, for a total of six picks.
Don't forget to watch!
When: This Thursday at 7 p.m.
What: Dolphins Draft Central. Excitement is building over the Dolphins draft and CBS Miami brings you coverage like no one else can, with Jim Berry and Najahe Sherman along with Mike Cugno live from downtown Miami.
Joining them will be Samantha Rivera and Kim Bokamper.
Click here to watch.
What's the format of the NFL draft and how many total rounds and picks are there?
The draft order is determined by the highest draft picks going to the teams with the worst records. The order of picks can change with potential trades. This year's first-overall pick goes to the Chicago Bears. Super Bowl champs Kansas City Chiefs pick last.
Each team has 10 minutes to make their pick in the first round. There are a total of seven rounds with over 250 picks involving the 32 teams. In the later rounds, teams will have less time to make their picks.
The Dolphins Training Facility is the team's headquarters on draft weekend. The first NFL draft took place at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Philadelphia on February 8, 1936. Ninety names were written on a blackboard in the meeting room from which the teams would choose.
New York City held the draft for 50 straight years and then it has moved to different locations since then to accommodate cities that don't normally host Super Bowls.
This year's draft will be held in the Motor City - Detroit, Michigan. Next year's draft will be in Green Bay, the home of the Packers.
The NFL Invites some of top players in college football to attend. All of them will hit the red carpet dressed to impress and then await their fate in the green room.
Every team has a table set up at the draft venue called selection square, where team representatives stay in constant contact with executives at each club's headquarters.
Now that you know the format of the draft and where it is, how does the process work when a team makes their picks?
Dolphins General Manager Chris Grier, head coach Mike McDaniel, and owner Stephen Ross, along with staff, will be at the Dolphins Training Facility. When a team decides on a selection, it communicates the player's name from its draft room to the draft site. The team representative then writes the selection on a draft card and submits it to an NFL staff member known as a runner. The runner then notifies that the selection has been made.
Upon receiving the card, the first runner immediately radios the selection to an NFL player personnel representative, who inputs the player's name into a database that notifies all clubs of the pick.
The runner also walks the card to the head table, where it reviews the name for accuracy and records the pick. He then shares the name with the NFL's commissioner to announce the pick.
The Dolphins have had some legendary draft picks in their history.
Miami's first-round selection of the 1983 draft was none other than Dan Marino with the 27th pick overall.
Marino is a Dolphins Hall of Famer and one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history. In 2020, Dolphins selected quarterback Tua Tagovailoa 5th overall.
Let's not forget some of the members of the 1972 perfect team.
Quarterback Bob Griese was selected by the Dolphins in the fourth overall pick in 1967 from Purdue and In 1968 the Dolphins selected Syracuse running back Larry Csonka with the eighth overall pick.
Not to mention two other Dolphin Hall of Famers.
Defensive lineman Jason Taylor was selected in the 3rd round of the 1997 draft and linebacker Zach Thomas was selected in the fifth round of the 1996 NFL draft.
Thanks for joining our class on NFL Draft 101. We hope you learn more about the draft and it helps you get ready for this big event.
Post-NFL Draft Show
Don't forget to watch our Dolphins Draft 2024 Show/
When: 7:30 p.m Saturday, April 27th.
The players showed up to get picked. Now, it's time for them to show out!
Join Mike Cugno and the CBS Miami Sports team for all the new player profiles and inside info on the future of the fins.
Click here to watch.
