NFL shortens time for first-round picks … The NFL has informed teams around the league that starting this spring, teams will now have 8 minutes to make their first-round picks, down from 10. That is expected to cut about a half hour off the opening round of the draft. As several commentators have noted, it really is annoying when teas, especially those with very early picks including the team with the #1 pick overall, use their entire time allotment and then select the player everyone knew they were going to take anyway. For now, the times allowed to make picks in the rest of the draft remain unchanged: teams get 7 minutes to make picks in the 2nd round; five minutes in rounds 3-6; and four minutes in round 7.
