There will not be separate NFL Draft broadcasts on ESPN and NFL Network this year. On Monday, ESPN announced their revamped Draft plans, which will now be based out of Bristol.

Trey Wingo will host all of the coverage from ESPN’s Bristol studios, with a variety of others joining remotely.

Here’s the full list of analysts, reporters, insiders and hosts that will appear on the joint ESPN/NFL Network broadcast.

  • Mel Kiper Jr
  • Louis Riddick
  • Booger McFarland
  • Rich Eisen
  • Daniel Jeremiah
  • Michael Irvin
  • Kurt Warner
  • Suzy Kolber
  • Chris Mortensen
  • Adam Schefter
  • Josina Anderson
  • Jeff Darlington
  • Dan Graziano
  • Sal Paolantonio
  • Mike Reiss
  • Dianna Russini
  • Ed Werder

In addition, ABC will have their College Gameday-centric Draft coverage for the second year in a row. The ABC broadcast will cover just the first two days of the Draft (rounds 1-3), and here’s the crew for that coverage. A notable absence is Lee Corso, who was a part of the ABC coverage last year for 11 picks.

  • Rece Davis
  • Jesse Palmer
  • Maria Taylor
  • Todd McShay
  • Kirk Herbstreit
  • Desmond Howard
  • David Pollack
  • Tom Rinaldi

Interestingly, Davis, Palmer, Taylor, and Rinaldi will all be in the Bristol studios, while McShay will jump over to the ESPN coverage for Day 3 of the Draft. The combined nature of the coverage between ESPN and NFL Network probably scuttled plans a bit, because it’s downright bizarre to see McShay on the “storytelling” ABC broadcast instead of the main ESPN stage. But with Kiper in the fold and NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah also included, three draft gurus on one broadcast probably seemed like overkill.

A year ago, the three network simulcast drew 11.1 million viewers for Day 1 of the Draft. The NFL Draft is the first event that even slightly resembles normalcy over the last month, and you’d think that 11 million viewers between the three networks (even though two of the broadcasts will be the same) should be a reasonable number to hit.

Last week, I was optimistic about the NFL’s “virtual draft” because I thought it could be a chance to streamline the often clunky coverage filled with time killing and repetition. Even with this ridiculous roster of on-air talent, I think that optimism is still a viable feeling, provided we don’t have something like a six or nine-box screen of analysts trying to talk at the same time. I still think the broadcast can be less chaotic and repetitive, but that can unravel in a hurry.

All three days of the NFL Draft will be available on ABC (with the third day being an ESPN simulcast), ESPN, NFL Network, ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes, and the digital arms of both ESPN and the NFL. Day 1 (which is just the first round) will run from 8 PM-11:30 PM ET on Thursday, April 23rd, Day 2 runs from 7 PM-11:30 PM ET on Friday, April 24th, and Day 3 runs from 12 PM-7 PM ET on Saturday, April 25th.

[ESPN]

About Joe Lucia

I hate your favorite team. I also sort of hate most of my favorite teams.