Why has the NFL Draft first round been shortened after major change to picks rule?

The NFL Draft can feel like a slow process, but in 2026, there will be less time on the clock.

In previous years, each team has had 10 minutes to make their first-round selection.

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Deciding on the perfect player to pick, of course, can be very time consuming.

It’s little surprise that cameras often capture a frantic-looking war room when teams are on the clock — and some calls are made at the very last moment.

Given some like to take their sweet time with selections, the draft has had a tendency to run long and quite often if feels like a chance to milk the drama out of every minute.

Opening night has been known to finish just before midnight Eastern Time, despite beginning around five hours earlier.

But for the 91st edition of the NFL Draft, which begins on Thursday in Pittsburgh, things will be a little different.

Major rule change for 2026 NFL Draft

In December 2025, the league notified teams that the time between picks in the first round has been shortened, from 10 minutes to eight minutes.

The move has been met with a positive response from both fans, who will be able to get a bit more sleep on draft night, and teams.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter noted at the time that NFL franchises were ‘on board’ with the decision.

The timing for Rounds 2-7 remains unchanged from last year.

Commissioner Roger Goodell had first mentioned this possibility of shortening first-round selections at the 2025 draft in Green Bay.

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He even floated the idea of teams being able to have one ‘extension’ during proceedings.

“I started thinking last night that we should shorten it,” Goodell said during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, on Day 2 of the 2025 draft.

“Should we have time you could save? I’m making it up — seven-minute first round, but you can get two minutes extra if you need it?

“You can call it but then you don’t get it again for the rest of the draft, so you get one extension.”

In reality, the NFL has landed on a slightly different format — with eight-minute windows, and no extensions in 2026.

Why do NFL teams need so long to make a draft pick?

The decision to shorten first-round selections shouldn’t really have a major impact on teams and their picks.

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Most will have done endless research on the players available, and the ones they want to target, heading into draft night.

Every metric known to man will have been considered, and in reality, each team will have reached a conclusion on who they will most likely select long before the first round starts.

But that’s where dramatic, last-minute trades can come into play.

Teams have historically spent the full 10-minute window trying to facilitate draft-day deals with their rivals, by either keeping the phone lines open, or actively calling up others to make a deal.

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Moving forward, though, they will have eight minutes to do so, rather than the 10 minutes they have become used to.

This isn’t the first time the NFL has cut the draft clock, either.

Prior to the 2008 edition, teams actually had 15 minutes to make their first-round pick.

Nearly two decades on, and opening night should have a more fluid feel.

It will begin with the Las Vegas Raiders in possession of the No. 1 pick — which is expected to be Indiana star Fernando Mendoza.

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