NFL GMs Are Not Happy With New Draft Time Limit

If you've ever thought the NFL Draft takes too long, you're in luck this year.

Instead of giving teams 10 minutes each to make their selections in the opening round of the 2026 NFL Draft, they'll only have eight minutes to decide.

"Only the first round is held on Thursday. It starts at 8 p.m. Eastern time, and each team has eight minutes to make its pick," the league's rulebook states. "The second and third rounds are on Friday; rounds 4-7 are on Saturday. Teams get seven minutes to make picks in the second round, five minutes for regular or compensatory picks in rounds 3-6 and four minutes in round 7. If a team lets its time expire without making a choice, it can make a selection later - but it runs the risk of letting the next team on the clock take the player it was considering."

Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Omar Khan made it known this week that he's not thrilled about having less time to make a potential franchise-altering pick.

"I'd love to have 10 minutes, but it's the same for everybody else," Khan said, via Pro Football Talk. "Eight minutes is what it is, but those two minutes, it feels like an eternity sometimes."

Khan said this rule change has led to general managers being a bit more active in trade talks prior to the start of the NFL Draft.

"They moved the first round from 10 minutes to eight minutes, so naturally we've been having more conversations to set parameters of what the value is if you move up to this spot or trade back. There's more conversation, but until we get there, I'm not sure how that's going to go."

What to expect in the NFL Draft.

Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza is projected to go No. 1 overall to the Las Vegas Raiders. Ohio State's Arvell Reese, meanwhile, is expected to go No. 2 to the New York Jets.

Things will really get interested when the Arizona Cardinals are on the clock with the No. 3 pick. It's possible they move down if they get the right offer.

The Dallas Cowboys, on the other hand, are expected to be aggressive during the opening round of the draft. Maybe, just maybe, we'll see Jerry Jones pull off a blockbuster trade.

Regardless, we can't wait for the NFL Draft to arrive.

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This story was originally published April 21, 2026 at 10:05 AM.