For those of you who still watch the NFL draft on ESPN despite having an alternative option with NFL Network, the Worldwide Leader has released details of what their coverage will look like during the three-day circus at Radio City Music Hall.
Unsurprisingly, Chris "the Pick Tipper" Berman will work his 33rd draft on the Thursday night, anchoring coverage of the opening round. He'll be joined again by familiar faces Mel Kiper, Jr. and Jon Gruden, with Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter at the children's table and Suzy Kolber working the stage to ask each draftee exactly how they feel moments after the biggest moment of their lives.
Trey Wingo and Kolber will handle the hosting duties on Friday and Saturday, which is nothing new. And Bill Polian is back after making his debut last year, joining Trent Dilfer and Todd McShay on the analyst side of things.
The "On the Clock" preview show will continue to run at 5 p.m. ET on Thursday and Friday and at 10 a.m. ET on Saturday.
The biggest change comes on the Sunday after the draft. Whereas last year we got a two-hour draft recap show hosted by Wendi Nix, this year we're getting a two-hour draft grades show, hosted by Wendi Nix. Last year's started at 5 p.m. ET but this year's starts at 1 p.m. ET.
So yeah, ESPN is pretty comfortable with what it has going and isn't about to throw us any curveballs.
Last year, they had five reporters on location with some of the more notable teams. Rachel Nichols (who was in Miami last year) left for CNN, while Bob Holtzman (who was with the Browns) wasn't mentioned in this year's media release on the network's coverage. Josina Anderson will cover the Rams for the second straight year, while Ed Werder will jump from Dallas to Kansas City, Sal Paolantonio (who covered the Jets in 2012) will be in Philadelphia and Colleen Dominguez will, inexplicably, be with one of the last teams to pick this year in San Francisco.
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About Brad Gagnon
Brad Gagnon has been passionate about both sports and mass media since he was in diapers -- a passion that won't die until he's in them again. Based in Toronto, he's worked as a national NFL blog editor at theScore.com, a producer and writer at theScore Television Network and a host, reporter and play-by-play voice at Rogers TV. His work has also appeared at CBSSports.com, Deadspin, FoxSports.com, The Guardian, The Hockey News and elsewhere at Comeback Media, but his day gig has him covering the NFL nationally for Bleacher Report.