NFL Network and ESPN decided in 2013 to stop disclosing draft picks via TV or otherwise (e.g., Twitter) before the Commissioner announces the selections. For 2015, the NFL has asked its network partners to do the same thing.
According to Ryan Glasspiegel of TheBigLead.com, the NFL has asked NBC, CBS, and FOX to advise reporters not to spoil the drama of the draft by disclosing picks before they are officially announced.
“As network partners of the NFL, we encourage and appreciate your coverage of the Draft in Chicago this year and ask for your cooperation with this approach,” an email from NFL senior V.P. of broadcasting Howard Katz to the men who run NBC Sports, CBS Sports, and FOX Sports. “Please have your reporters and other personnel refrain from revealing picks on social media or other platforms before they are announced in the Draft broadcasts.”
In 2013, PFT decided to refrain from tipping picks, for a couple of reasons. First, the information isn’t that hard to get. Every team knows every pick several minutes before it’s announced. Also, multiple people at the draft are fully aware of the pick during the time that elapses between submission of the card until the Commissioner announces the pick. Second, the audience overwhelmingly doesn’t want the information. (The latest PFT poll on this question generated more than 83 percent saying they don’t want to know.)
While that hasn’t (and won’t) keep PFT from reporting information that becomes available between now and the start of the draft regarding things that one or more teams may do when the draft begins, once a team is on the clock the pick won’t be disclosed here or at the PFT Twitter account, even if we catch wind of the selection early. (That said, we reserve the right to add to the drama by hinting at a potential surprise selection, if/when surprises arise.)
So enjoy the draft on TV and a second screen without worrying about PFT doing anything that will undermine your enjoyment of the process.