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After months of waiting, the 2013 NFL Draft is finally here! The first round kicks off later tonight, Thursday, April 25, live from Radio City Music Hall in downtown Manhattan. The first round starts at 5:00 p.m. PT when the Kansas City Chiefs go on the clock.
Each team will have ten minutes to make their selection, and I imagine we could be in for a long first round. This year, we are looking at a fairly fluid draft in which several teams in the top ten are looking to move down. Teams will be pounding the phones trying to move picks, and I bet Trent Baalke will be the belle of the ball. The 49ers hold 13 picks, including pick No. 31 on day one. They are rumored to be interested in moving up, but we won't know until later today if that is true, or yet another smoke screen.
TELEVISION
This year's draft will once again be televised on ESPN/ESPN 2 and NFL Network. To get a full rundown of the million and one things they have planned for the next three days, check out Richard Deitsch's media mega-preview over at SI.com.
I like to ask this question each year, so here it is once again: what is your network of choice for draft coverage? Or do you prefer to flip back and forth between NFL Network and ESPN?
ONLINE
War Room Cam: The 49ers will NOT have a live camera in their war room this year. In years' past, 49ers.com has included the live war room shot. That will not be available this year, per Matt Maiocco.
Live stream: NFL.com will provide live streaming online all three days of the draft. If you are not around a television, you will be able to watch on your computer. The NFL is also providing streaming service to mobile devices, although I believe you will need Verizon to get that option on your phone.
Twitter: There will be plenty of Tweeting going on. I will be tweeting throughout from @NinersNation. I will not be tweeting every pick, but aside from all pertinent 49ers information, I'll have plenty of comments about other teams' picks. This will be particularly true for the NFC West.
For those of you who will be following the draft on Twitter (in addition to, or in place of the televised broadcast), be forewarned that spoilers are going to happen. ESPN and NFL Network analysts have said they will try to avoid leaking picks before they are announced on television. CBS Sports' Jason LaCanfora is under no such directive, and thus will be tweeting out information as he gets it, even if it spoils the television broadcast. Personally, I don't care about it, but I know some people like the drama of the broadcast. If you are part of that latter group, stay off Twitter during the draft. I will be tweeting information as I see it, and others will be tweeting and retweeting information. Just a warning.