What time does the NFL Draft start tonight?

After months of speculation and surviving Mock Draft SZN, the NFL Draft is finally here.

Free agency is behind us and it's clear that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are going to address their biggest areas of need through the draft rather than trying to spend their way out of trouble. It's the smart move, especially given how great Jason Licht has been at mining the draft for talent.

Last year he added perhaps his best rookie class yet. He drafted Calijah Kancey, Yaya Diaby, Trey Palmer, while also landing a fantastic undrafted rookie haul that gave the Bucs players like Christian Izien and Sean Tucker.

That's the act he's going to try and follow up this year. Rebuilding the offensive line and adding some edge rush and cornerback depth will be key, but the Buccaneers could go in any number of directions when figuring out how to use their four Top 100 picks.

It's a three day marathon, but the action kicks off tonight and here's how to catch it all.

NFL Draft 2024 start time

Here's where things get a little tricky, as no two days of the draft start at the same time. The second round is slated to start at 7pm ET on Friday and the final rounds begin bright and early Saturday morning.

The only truly primetime affair is the first round on Thursday night, which is going to get the primo 8pm ET slot that networks reserve for their top programming. Tonight, at least on ABC, that's going to be the drama of the NFL Draft.

• Start Time: 8:00 pm ET
• Date: Thursday, April 25, 2024
• Location: Detroit, MI
• Stadium: Ford Field

It's worth noting that ABC is going to have the more traditional College Football panel discussing things, while ESPN will be closer to the old-school screw. It's not going to be a simulcast so don't expect to catch the same thing on each channel -- we have been gifted with some options.

How to watch NFL Draft tonight?

As the last tentpole event of the offseason before we hit the start of the season, the NFL is going all out to broadcast the NFL Draft this weekend. Three different channels will broadcast each day of the draft, with ABC and ESPN rolling out two different studio crews and NFL Network rocking it's A-Team.

The NFL Draft is also going to be streamed across each of the network's services, so it's going to be next to impossible to miss any of the action this weekend.

• TV Channel: ESPN | ABC | NFL Network
• Live Stream: Fubo TV | ESPN+ | NFL App

When do the Buccaneers pick in Round 1?

Right now the Buccaneers are scheduled to go on the clock at No. 26 overall, which is going to be toward the end of the night. That could change, though, as Tampa Bay might trade up if certain prospects fall and might trade out of the first round entirely if nothing lights the front office on fire.

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