The Kansas City Chiefs will kick of the 2013 NFL Draft on Thursday from Radio City Music Hall with the first overall pick and after months of the media and scouts speculating, teams will get the chance to add talent to their rosters, with prospects like Geno Smith, Luke Joeckel, Jarvis Jones and Eric Fisher expected to go in the first 10 picks.
The Jacksonville Jaguars pick second in the draft ahead of the Oakland Raiders, who reportedly would like to trade out of that spot to get more picks, while the Philadelphia Eagles and the Detroit Lions round out the top five. The Raiders had to trade away picks to acquire Matt Flynn and since they do not have a second rounder there is a chance they could trade down and get an extra late pick or two to go along with it while still getting a talented player, since the pool of prospects is considered deep. Either way the Raiders will get a look at a prime player, including options like Dee Milliner, Jarvis Jones and Dion Jordan.
The first round of the draft begins at 8 pm on ESPN and NFL Network and both channels will be offering plenty of online content related to the draft as well as radio programming and pre-draft analysis. Mel Kiper is the resident expert on ESPN, while the NFL Network will have the expertise of Mike Mayock, who many consider one of the best analysts in the game. A number of top draft prospects will be attending the event at Radio City, including Sharrif Floyd, Eddie Lacy, EJ Manuel, Eric Fisher, Luke Joeckel and Tavon Austin among others.
Joeckel is expected to be the first player picked, while Geno Smith and Ryan Nassib could be the first quarterbacks on the board. Some teams have been weary about Dee Milliner's shoulder surgery, but most experts say he is NFL ready and could transition into a starter as a rookie. The second round and third round will be televised on Friday night starting at 6:30 pm, while the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh rounds will start at 12 noon on Saturday.
Last season Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III were the clear cut picks at one and two, while this season it has been all about the left tackles and trench players, as Joeckel and Fisher are considered top five picks along with Dion Jordan and Sharrif Floyd. Both the NFL Network and ESPN will live stream the event online, while ESPN will also have radio coverage and pre-game show.