| **WHAT:** | 65th Annual National Football League Player Selection Meeting |
| **WHERE:** | The Theater, Madison Square Garden, New York City |
| **WHEN:** | 12:00 noon (EDT), Saturday, April 15, 2000 (Rounds 1-3) 11:00 a.m. (EDT), Sunday, April 16, 2000 (Rounds 4-7) |
DRAFTING:
The 2000 NFL Draft will consist of seven rounds with a total of 254 picks. Each team is assigned one pick per round based on the reverse order of finish of the 1999 season. In addition, a total of 31 compensatory choices were awarded to 14 clubs. Six teams have two selections in the first round, Washington (2nd and 3rd), Baltimore (5th and 15th), San Francisco (12th and 24th), Tampa Bay (13th and 27th), N.Y. Jets (16th and 18th) and Seattle (19th and 22nd).
ON THE CLOCK:
Round 1 – 15 minutes will be allotted for each team's selection.
Round 2 – 10 minutes per selection.
Rounds 3 through 7 – 5 minutes per selection.
TELEVISION:
ESPN and ESPN2 will televise the draft in its entirety. This will be the 20th year of draft coverage by ESPN. ESPN will be in Foxboro at the Patriots' draft headquarters and will interview head coach Bill Belichick following the Patriots' first pick via video conference. The 2000 NFL Draft will mark the first time that ESPN will have live reports from every NFL team's headquarters.
| **Saturday, April 15** | ESPN - Noon – 7 p.m. EDT ESPN2 - 7 p.m. until the end of the third round |
| **Sunday, April 16** | ESPN - 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. EDT ESPN2 - 1 p.m. until the end of the draft |
DRAFT FORMAT
The draft will consist of seven rounds with a total of 254 picks. Each team was assigned one pick per round based on the reverse order of finish in the 1999 season.
COMPENSATORY PICKS
A total of 31 compensatory choices in the 2000 NFL Draft were awarded to 14 teams, including four to the Patriots.
Under terms of the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement, a team losing more or better compensatory free agents than it acquires in a year is eligible to receive compensatory draft picks.
The number of picks a team receives equals the net loss of compensatory free agents up to a maximum of four. The 31 compensatory choices will supplement the 223 choices in the regular seven rounds of the 2000 NFL Draft. This year, the compensatory picks will be positioned within the fourth through seventh rounds based on the value of the compensatory free agents lost.
Compensatory free agents are determined by a formula based on salary and performance. The formula was developed by the NFL Management Council. Not every free agent lost or signed by a club is covered by this formula.
The following 2000 draft picks have been approved by the NFL Management Council Executive Committee:
| **Round** | **Overall Selection** | **Team** |
| 4 | 126 | Green Bay |
| 4 | 127 | New England |
| 4 | 128 | Tennessee |
| 4 | 129 | Washington |
| 5 | 162 | Kansas City |
| 5 | 163 | Pittsburgh |
| 5 | 164 | Arizona |
| 5 | 165 | Minesota |
| 5 | 166 | New Orleans |
| 6 | 199 | New England |
| 6 | 200 | New Orleans |
| 6 | 201 | New England |
| 6 | 202 | Washington |
| 6 | 203 | San Diego |
| 6 | 204 | Pittsburgh |
| 7 | 239 | New England |
| 7 | 240 | Minnesota |
| 7 | 241 | Jacksonville |
| 7 | 242 | Green Bay |
| 7 | 243 | Jacksonville |
| 7 | 244 | Minnesota |
| 7 | 245 | Jacksonville |
| 7 | 246 | Denver |
| 7 | 247 | Jacksonville |
| 7 | 248 | Minnesota |
| 7 | 249 | Green Bay |
| 7 | 250 | Washington |
| 7 | 251 | Buffalo |
| 7 | 252 | Green Bay |
| 7 | 253 | Detroit |
PASSING
If a team does not make a pick during its allotted time period, the team "passes" and the pick will defer to the next team. The initial team may then at any point make a pick, regardless of whether or not the subsequent team (or teams) have made a pick.
DRAFT ORDER
Draft-order ties are resolved by the cumulative record of each team's opponents. The team with the weaker opponents receives drafting priority.
Within a tied segment, non-playoff clubs are given priority over playoff clubs. Priority of playoff clubs within a tied segment is based on their advancement in the playoffs, but they will not drop out of their tied segment unless they participate in the Super Bowl.
Teams involved in two-team ties will alternate positions from round-to-round. In ties that involve three or more teams, the team at the bottom of the tied segment in a given round will move to the bottom of the segment for the next round, while all other teams in the segment move up one position. This rotation continues throughout the draft.
TRANSACTIONS INVOLVING FIRST ROUND PICKS
The Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Washington Redskins all have two picks in the first round of the 2000 NFL Draft. Listed below are the transactions involving the six picks.
| **Baltimore trades:** | Round 2 (42nd overall - TE Reggie Kelly), 1999 |
| **Atlanta trades:** | Round 1 (5th overall), 2000 |
| **Washington trades:** | Round 1 (5th overall – Ricky Williams), 1999 |
| **New Orleans trades:** | Round 1 (2nd overall) and Round 3 (64th overall) 2000; plus six selections in the 1999 draft |
| **Seattle receives:** | Round 1 (19th overall), 2000 |
| **Dallas sign:** | Seattle franchise player WR Joey Galloway |
| **N.Y. Jets receive:** | Round 1 (16th overall), 2000 |
| **N.E. Patriots signed:** | Bill Belichick |
| **Tampa Bay trades:** | Round 2 (59th overall Mikhael Ricks), 1999 |
| **San Diego trades:** | Round 1 (13th overall), 2000 |
| **San Francisco trades:** | Round 1 (3rd overall), 2000 |
| **Washington trades:** | Round 1 (12th overall), 2000 and Round 1 (24th overall), 2000 |
ON THE CLOCK
In 1993, the NFL draft was reduced from 12 rounds to just eight rounds. The following year, the NFL adopted the current system using seven rounds and added compensatory picks. With the addition of the Cleveland Browns to the NFL prior to last season's draft, there were 14 more selections than the year before (253 in 1999, compared to 241 in 1998). As a result, it was the longest draft since 1996, lasting 16:52 and covering 254 selections, the most since the draft moved to seven rounds. Recent times of the first round and entire draft are listed below:
| **Year** | **# of Picks** | **Duration of 1st Rd** | **Duration of Draft** |
| 1999 | 253 | 5 hours, 4 minutes | 15 hours, 56 minutes |
| 1998 | 241 | 4 hours, 39 minutes | 14 hours, 25 minutes |
| 1997 | 240 | 5 hours, 13 minutes | 15 hours, 43 minutes |
| 1996 | 254 | 5 hours, 20 minutes | 16 hours, 52 minutes |
| 1995 | 249 | 5 hours, 39 minutes | 15 hours, 40 minutes |
| 1994 | 222 | 4 hours, 56 minutes | 14 hours, 59 minutes |
IN RECORD TIME
The following times represent draft-day records:
| **Record** | **Time** | **Year** |
| Longest first round (since '67): | 5:39 | 1995 |
| Shortest first round (since '67): | 2:00 | 1972 |
| Longest 12-round draft: | 19:26 | 1977 |
| Shortest 12-round draft: | 16:19 | 1981 |
