Two-minute warning: The NFL notified teams today that it will shorten the time between picks in the first round of the draft from 10 to 8 minutes starting with the 2026 draft in Pittsburgh.
This will shorten the length of the first round, which had been finishing around 11:45p… pic.twitter.com/yMsym354PY
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 10, 2025
The NFL Draft is the second most anticipated event on the calendar for fans of any team. While not everyone gets to go to a Super Bowl, they do get to make some picks in the league’s annual selection meeting. Despite the success the event has, they do enjoy it being in primetime, and with it running a bit long in the first round every year, the league made some changes.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter shared that the NFL was going to be cutting down on the time that teams have to pick in round one from 10 minutes to eight. The two minutes may not seem like much, but it will make teams work quicker on any trade backs, perhaps leading to more movement pre-draft versus during it. The move was made after Commissioner Roger Goodell hinted at it on The Pat McAfee Show last year.
No other rounds are having their times changed or altered at this time.
This is also the first adjustment to the time of picks since 2008, when they cut it by 5 minutes. The first round of the 2007 NFL Draft took a whopping six hours and eight minutes to complete, so picks went from being timed for 15 minutes to 10.
The NFL Draft will take place in Pittsburgh in 2026.