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The NFL Draft is how teams add college players (and other eligible players) to their rosters. It runs over three days in late April, with 7 rounds and 32 picks per round, plus compensatory selections. That comes out to roughly 250+ picks total each year.

Teams pick one at a time in a set order. Once a player is selected, no other team can pick them. Any eligible player who is not drafted becomes an undrafted free agent (UDFA) and can sign with whoever they want.

Round 1 happens on Thursday night, rounds 2-3 on Friday, and rounds 4-7 on Saturday. The time between picks gets shorter as the rounds go on: 10 minutes per pick in round 1, 7 minutes in round 2, and 5 minutes from round 3 onward.

The draft order is based on the previous season's record. Worst record picks first, best record picks last. Teams that made the playoffs are ordered by how far they went, with the Super Bowl loser picking 31st and the champion picking 32nd.

For non-playoff teams with the same record, the tiebreaker is strength of schedule (SOS). The team that played a weaker schedule picks earlier. If SOS is also tied, a coin flip decides it.

This order applies to every round, though it gets adjusted by trades and compensatory picks. Check out the current draft order to see how things stand right now.

Teams can trade draft picks for other picks, for players, or for both. Trades can happen during the draft itself, but also throughout the offseason and regular season. The trade window opens at the start of the league year (mid-March) and closes at the trade deadline in early November. Between the deadline and the start of the next league year, no trades can happen.

Teams can trade picks from future drafts, but only up to three years out (inclusive of the current year). So heading into the 2026 draft, a team can deal picks from the 2026, 2027, and 2028 drafts, but not 2029.

There is no hard rule on what a pick is “worth,” but most front offices use some version of a trade value chart to evaluate deals. The most famous one is the Jimmy Johnson chart from the 1990s, though modern analytics have produced better models.

A few other rules: compensatory picks could not be traded until 2017, and now they can be. Any trade during the draft has to be approved by the league office before the pick is made.

Want to see how a trade stacks up? Try the trade calculator.

Compensatory picks are extra selections added to the end of rounds 3 through 7. They are awarded to teams that lost more or better free agents than they signed the previous offseason.

The formula is not public, but it is based on the salary, playing time, and postseason honors of the players who left versus the ones who were signed. A team can receive up to four comp picks per year. The round (3rd through 7th) depends on the value of the player lost.

One thing that often confuses people: players who are released do not factor into the comp pick formula. Only unrestricted free agents who sign with a new team count.

All drafted players sign 4-year contracts with salaries determined by their draft slot. The CBA sets the dollar amounts, so negotiations are pretty limited. The main sticking point is usually offset language (whether the old team still pays if the player gets cut and signs elsewhere).

First-round picks have a 5th-year team option that the club can exercise after the player's third season. The amount depends on draft position and Pro Bowl appearances. It is fully guaranteed once the option year starts.

For a deeper look at the numbers, check out the salary cap guide, which has an interactive rookie wage scale calculator.

Any draft-eligible player who does not get selected in 7 rounds becomes an undrafted free agent. They are free to sign with any team, and the recruiting starts immediately after the draft ends. Teams call players during the late rounds to pitch their situation.

UDFA contracts are 3-year minimum-salary deals, though many include small signing bonuses ($10K-$200K) to sweeten the offer. The odds are not great: most UDFAs get cut during training camp. But the ones who stick around can become real contributors. Tony Romo, Kurt Warner, Priest Holmes, and more recently James Robinson and Jakboi Meyers went undrafted.

The league can take away draft picks as a penalty. This usually happens for tampering (contacting a player or coach under contract with another team), violating the salary cap, or breaking other league rules. The severity of the violation determines which round the team loses.

Some famous examples: the Patriots lost a first-round pick in Deflategate, the Bears lost draft picks for a tampering case, and the Dolphins lost a first-rounder for tampering with Tom Brady and Sean Payton. Teams do not get these picks back.

College players become eligible for the draft once they are three years out of high school. Underclassmen (juniors, redshirt sophomores) have to officially declare by a January deadline. If they do not declare, they stay in school.

Since 2020, underclassmen can get an evaluation from the NFL Draft Advisory Board before deciding. The board gives them a grade estimate (first round, second round, etc.) to help them decide whether to come out or stay in school. Players can withdraw from the draft and return to college as long as they have not signed with an agent.

The NFL Scouting Combine is an invitation-only event held in Indianapolis each February. About 300 prospects get invited to run drills, take medical exams, and interview with teams. The main on-field tests: 40-yard dash, bench press, vertical jump, broad jump, 3-cone drill, and shuttle run.

Pro Days happen in March and April at individual college campuses. They are a chance for players to run the same drills in front of scouts, especially if they did not get a Combine invite or want to improve on a number. Some players skip the Combine entirely and bet on their Pro Day instead.

The testing numbers matter, but teams care more about the tape. Combine results can move a player up or down a few spots, but film is still king. A bad 40 time does not sink a good player, and a blazing 40 does not save a bad one.