The first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday evening from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, produced its share of winners and losers.
Judging by reactions from fans and others, the ESPN broadcast of the event fell squarely into the latter category.
Throughout the night, viewers took to the social media platform X to complain about what one NFL analyst called an “absolutely embarrassing display” from the NFL and one of its major broadcast partners.
X users cited as troublesome the NFL’s decision to shorten the time between picks from 10 minutes to eight minutes. On the face of it, of course, the decision made sense, for it prioritized viewers’ experience. Selections happened more quickly and with less dead time in between them.
ESPN, however, littered viewers’ screens with the usual amount of fluff interviews and especially commercials. As a result, the broadcast fell behind in reporting player selections, in some cases ridiculously so.
“ESPN is so far behind on picks,” former NFL offensive tackle Mitchell Schwartz wrote on X. “They’re going to have to figure this 8 min thing out because they can’t be 10+ min behind real time. The whole tipping picks thing is irrelevant when you feel like you can’t be on social media because the TV is that delayed.”
ESPN is so far behind on picks. They’re going to have to figure this 8 min thing out because they can’t be 10+ min behind real time. The whole tipping picks thing is irrelevant when you feel like you can’t be on social media because the TV is that delayed.
— Mitchell Schwartz (@MitchSchwartz71) April 24, 2026
In other words, fans who followed the event on social media knew the selections long before the ESPN audience did.
Likewise, NFL analyst Warren Sharp suggested that perhaps ESPN’s producers “slept thru the meeting where the NFL changed the time between picks to 8 minutes,” calling it an “absolutely embarrassing display.”
it’s like the TV producers slept thru the meeting where the NFL changed the time between picks to 8 minutes
these guys are WAY behind and the draft just started
absolutely embarrassing display
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) April 24, 2026
Alain Poupart, who covers the Miami Dolphins, blamed the commercials.
“It’s a joke, really … they’re like two picks behind because they have to fill the airtime and get in commercials,” Poupart wrote.
It’s a joke, really … they’re like two picks behind because they have to fill the airtime and get in commercials. https://t.co/2ko10QpNqt
— Alain Poupart (@PoupartNFL) April 24, 2026
Meanwhile, on Friday morning, Zach Dean of Outkick joked that “ESPN is still trying to catch up on the picks.”
In addition to the broadcast’s molasses-like pace, someone forgot to keep ESPN host Mike Greenberg abreast of transactions.
As often happens, the San Francisco 49ers traded the 27th overall pick to the Dolphins. Miami then used the pick to select San Diego State cornerback Chris Johnson.
Despite the updated ESPN chyron and the Dolphins’ logo prominently displayed above NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s podium on stage, Greenberg still announced the pick as if the 49ers had selected Johnson.
Then, after Goodell announced that Miami had selected Johnson, Greenberg still behaved as if the trade had never happened.
“With the 27th pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, the Miami Dolphins select Chris Johnson, defensive back, San Diego State,” Goodell said in a clip posted to X.
“All right, so the California kid stays in California,” the oblivious Greenberg remarked moments later.
Mike Greenberg seems to have zero idea that the Dolphins traded up to No. 27 to take Chris Johnson… pic.twitter.com/i5pNPlO4V6
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 24, 2026
Greenberg’s confusion notwithstanding, the Dolphins had a productive night by landing Johnson and Alabama OT Kadyn Proctor 15 picks earlier.
Likewise, the New York Giants snagged a pair of top-10 picks in Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese at #5 and University of Miami offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa at #10. And the New York Jets maneuvered their way into three first-round selections: Texas Tech defensive end David Bailey at #2, Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq at #16, and Indiana wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. at #30.
On the other hand, the Los Angeles Rams raised eyebrows by selecting Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson at #13. Los Angeles already has an established quarterback in reigning NFL MVP Matthew Stafford. And the team came within one touchdown drive of reaching the Super Bowl. Most fans, therefore, expected the #13 pick to be a player more likely than Simpson to help the 2026 Rams.
Of course, fans on social media knew all of this long before ESPN viewers did.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
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