Welcome to Draft Season!
By Jeff Bowers (@sportsnarrative)
The season is in the books (congrats to the Michigan Wolverines and to the South Dakota State Jackrabbits in the FCS).
The NFL is gearing up for the postseason — it is officially NFL Draft Season! The draft order is set, and no place will have you covered better than The Draft Narrative Podcast and The24Media. Watch for our weekly
podcast (www.youtube.com/thesportsnarrative) and follow on X (www.x.com/sportsnarrative). Here is a
look at the upcoming schedule of events for the offseason:
January 15 – The deadline for early entries to declare themselves eligible for the draft.
This is the day we will officially know the draft pool that is available and the relative strength and
weakness of each position.
January 25 to February 1- The East/West Shrine Game at The Star in Frisco, TX.
The Shrine game is the first postseason practice and game for potential prospects. The Draft
Narrative will be broadcasting everyday of practices.
January 28 to February 3 – The Reese’s Senior Bowl in Mobile, AL.
The Senior Bowl features coaching staffs of two NFL teams and usually the highest of talented
prospects of any of the postseason events. Our partner AP Stedham will have all the best
coverage and interviews live from Mobile.
February 20 – Opening of the Franchise and Transition Tag designations.
This will limit the number of top-tier free agents available, and the period lasts until March 5 th .
February 26 to March 4 – The NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.
The Combine serves as a “job interview” in front of all 32 teams as well as providing
measurements and medicals for many players.
March 5 to mid-April – Pro Day Schedule
Following the Combine, many schools or individual players will have workouts for team scouts.
While these numbers can be a little biased, they do provide a good forum for players deeper in
the draft as well as to confirm earlier workout numbers.
March 11 – Opening of the free agent “tampering period.’
From the 11 th to the 13 th , NFL teams can reach out to representatives of unrestricted free agents
on their own team and attempt to retain them before they hit open free agency.
March 13 – Start of the new League year and Free Agency
Free Agency begins as salary caps are set and trades can become official. Again, stay tuned to
the24media for all the latest. This can drastically affect a team’s draft needs, rendering most
mock drafts done before this point not worth the digital paper they are printed on.
April 1 to April 15 – NFL Offseason Programs Begin
This is usually about the time the frenzy of early free agency begins to die down and teams
settle in for their final draft preparations. Usually this also coincides with some big pre-draft
trades of strategies being discussed. Also, this begins the season I like to term “smoke” season,
where teams begin to try to throw shade or obfuscate their intentions to land the player they
want. Most of what you hear in this period should be taken with a giant grain of salt.
April 25 to April 27 – The 89 th annual NFL Draft from Detroit, MI.
The24Media will be broadcasting LIVE from media row at the NFL Draft for Nights 1 and 2 as
well as from the red carpet and even the night before for an epic pre-draft bash. A host of
special guests, a ton of laughs and incisive draft analysis of your favorite team is all in store for
you when you tune in. Unlike the big boys and their boring, pre-produced packages about somekid’s worst moment in life, we will give you the info you want and need to know as if we were
sitting around watching the draft over a beverage or two.
I do hope you will join on this adventure through the offseason. I have loved the NFL Draft for as
long as I can remember, and it has been my dream to broadcast and share that passion and
knowledge with you. One of my favorite sayings about the NFL Draft comes from Rick Gosselin
of the Dallas Morning News when he said, “the NFL Draft is the only time when all 32 teams
compete on the same field at the same time, and it changes with every single pick.” Come
watch the drama unfold with us!