Fernando Mendoza going to the Raiders with the first overall pick came as a surprise to no one, but the second quarterback selected was a bit of a stunner when the Rams picked Ty Simpson from Alabama with the 13th pick. The Rams are in win-now mode with 38-year-old QB Matthew Stafford, so most draft experts figured the team would use the pick to add a wide receiver for Stafford or fortify its offensive or defensive lines -- or trade down. (Kudos to The Ringer's Todd McShay for getting the Simpson pick right in his final mock draft.)
Eight teams -- the Bills, Bengals, Broncos, Colts, Falcons, Jaguars, Packers and 49ers -- didn't make a pick last night and will make their first selection tonight in round 2. The 49ers are up first with the 33rd overall pick when the NFL draft resumes tonight at 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT) on ABC, ESPN and NFL Network. The final four rounds will take place on Saturday.
Here's everything you need to know to watch all the action without cable, including a number of ways to watch every pick for free.
The NFL Draft continues from Pittsburgh on Friday with the second and third rounds.
Emilee Chinn/Getty ImagesHow can I watch the draft live?
Watch live for free: ABC will air all three days of the draft. You can watch for free if you have an over-the-air antenna hooked up to your TV and can get your local ABC station.
Subscription options: The NFL draft will be broadcast on ABC, ESPN and NFL Network and stream on ESPN Unlimited and NFL Plus.
If you don't want to subscribe to ESPN Unlimited, NFL Plus or cable TV, then you can watch on ABC, ESPN and NFL Network with a live TV streaming service, some of which offer an introductory trial that will let you watch the draft for free. There's more on the best ways to stream the NFL draft below.
There are also plenty of live YouTube shows you can watch during the draft, including The Pat McAfee Show Draft Spectacular and The Athletic Football Show. The McShay Show will also be live on Netflix during the draft.
When does the NFL draft start?
Here are the start times for each day of the draft.
Friday, April 24
- Rounds 2 and 3: 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT)
Saturday, April 25
- Rounds 4 to 7: 12 p.m. ET (9 a.m. PT)
On ESPN, Rich Eisen will host alongside Daniel Jeremiah, Charles Davis and Joel Klatt, with Ian Rapoport and Kurt Warner.
On ABC, Rece Davis will host with Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Nick Saban and Field Yates. For Day 3 of the draft on Saturday, ABC and ESPN will combine forces with Rece Davis, Matt Miller, Louis Riddick, Field Yates, Peter Schrager and others covering rounds 4 through 7.
On the NFL Network, Rich Eisen will lead coverage featuring Daniel Jeremiah, Charles Davis, Kurt Warner, Joel Klatt and Ian Rapoport.
What's the order of the draft picks?
Here's the draft order for the first 10 picks of the second round:
33. San Francisco 49ers (from Jets)
34. Arizona Cardinals
35. Buffalo Bills
36. Las Vegas Raiders
37. New York Giants
38. Houston Texans (from Commanders)
39. Cleveland Browns
40. Kansas City Chiefs
41. Cincinnati Bengals
42. New Orleans Saints
You can track all of the picks with ESPN's DraftCast.
Best ways to watch the NFL Draft
You can watch the NFL draft for free on ABC or one of the aforementioned YouTube live streams. You can also watch with a live TV streaming service or with ESPN's own streaming service.
You can also watch all seven rounds with the NFL's streaming service. NFL Plus costs $7 a month and will let you watch every pick on your TV, computer, phone or tablet.
The ESPN direct-to-consumer streaming service comes in two flavors. The ESPN Unlimited plan costs $30 a month (or $300 a year) and lets you stream all ESPN linear networks: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews, ESPN Deportes, SEC Network and ACC Network. You also get access to programming on ESPN on ABC, ESPN Plus, ESPN3, SECN Plus and ACCNX. With ESPN Unlimited, you can watch every pick of the NFL draft.
(A $13 per month ESPN Select plan is also available, and it's like a rebranding of ESPN Plus. It offers you access to thousands of live games -- including small college conferences, whose games are not shown anywhere else -- but not the NFL draft.)
Fubo's sports plan costs $56 a month and includes ABC, ESPN and NFL Network. There's also a five-day trial you can use to watch all three days of the draft for free. Click here to see which local channels you get.
YouTube TV's sports plan costs $65 a month and includes ABC, ESPN and NFL Network for the draft. There's also a five-day trial you can use to watch the draft for free. Plug in your ZIP code on its welcome page to see which local networks are available in your area.
DirecTV's $65-a-month MySports package includes ABC, ESPN and NFL Network. And there's a free, five-day trial. You can use its channel lookup tool to see which local channels are available where you live.
All of the live TV streaming services above allow you to cancel anytime and require a solid internet connection. Looking for more information? Check out our live-TV streaming services guide.
