Can you believe it? We are still two weeks away from the 2015 NFL Draft. Will it ever come! The eternity of waiting is almost over and thankfully we’ve moved one step closer with ESPN revealing their coverage plans for this year’s event. For the first time, the draft will be televised from Chicago with three straight days of coverage from April 30-May 2.
And for those of you hoping that this is the year Trey Wingo finally takes over for Chris Berman for Round 1 of the draft… keep waiting. Boomer returns to anchor the first round coverage while Wingo takes over for Day 2 and Day 3. The lineup is pretty much the exact same as last year with Mel Kiper Jr. being the one person on set for all three days.
Day 1: Chris Berman (host); Mel Kiper Jr, Jon Gruden, Ray Lewis (analysts); Chris Mortensen, Adam Schefter (reporters); Suzy Kolber (interviews).
Day 2: Trey Wingo (host); Kiper, Todd McShay, Trent Dilfer (analysts); Mortensen, Schefter, Kolber (contributors).
Day 3: Wingo (host); Kiper, McShay, Bill Polian (analysts); Mortensen, Schefter (contributors).
There’s always going to be consternation over Berman’s assignment, and Ray Lewis hasn’t exactly set the world alight as a television analyst. However, from top to bottom this is a very good lineup, especially on the draft’s last day. I thought Polian really shone on the main set being able to give insights into late round drafting strategies and it made the telecast that much more interesting. Also, for as much as there’s a bit too much of the “Embrace Debate” mentality when it comes to the Kiper-McShay dynamic, they usually leave that aside for detailed analysis on draft day that focuses on the players and teams involved.
ESPN will also have several reporters on site in various locations, including two reporters with the top two quarterbacks that will be drafted watching from home. Here’s the full list:
- Florida State’s Jameis Winston in Alabama (Tom Rinaldi)
- Oregon’s Marcus Mariota in Hawaii (Shelley Smith)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Ed Werder)
- Tennessee Titans (Sal Paolantonio)
- New York Jets (Josina Anderson)
- Chicago Bears (Bob Holtzman)
- St. Louis Rams (Britt McHenry)
- Cleveland Browns (Jeremy Fowler)
- San Diego Chargers (Jim Trotter)
Now all we have to do is just wait those two more weeks.
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