NFL Draft Week Is Finally Here

NFL Draft Week is finally here! After all the waiting, predicting and posturing we finally get to see who our favorite NFL teams pick in the draft. It begins with the first round Thursday April 24 from Green Bay, Wisconsin. Rounds two and three take place Friday night and rounds four through seven take place Saturday beginning at noon.

The amazing thing about Thursday's prime time event, the NFL Draft has become as big as an actual prime time NFL game. Millions of people will tune in over several networks to catch a glimpse of their favorite team's newest player. As we say, it has become the biggest non-sporting-event-sporting-event of the calendar year.

Why is NFL Draft Week so big? For starters it gives hope. The worst teams pick first and that means a bad team gets to add a really good player on the first night. If their general manager knows what he is doing the bad teams can add a handful of good players over three days and turn a franchise's woes around.

First up, the Tennessee Titans are on the clock. They have the first pick and by all accounts they will spend it on Miami quarterback Cam Ward. He is very talented and he is a great story because nobody recruited him out of high school. Yet here he is standing on top. His name will be the first called on by the NFL Thursday night.

What ever happens next with the Cleveland Browns is anybody's guess. But that is the other thing that makes the Draft such a big TV draw - the drama and excitement of not really knowing who gets drafted next. And that is why we are so excited that NFL Draft Week is here!

For more NFL Draft Week talk and analysis tune in each weekday to Craig Shemon and Company from 2-6pm on ESPN Southwest Florida.