73rd Annual National Football League Player Selection Meeting
Saturday, April 26 & Sunday, April 27, 2008

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WHERE:** Radio City Music Hall, New York City

WHEN:3:00 p.m. (EDT), Saturday, April 26, 2008 (Rounds 1-2); 10:00 a.m. (EDT), Sunday, April 27, 2008 (Rounds 3-7)

DRAFTING: The 2008 NFL Draft will consist of seven rounds with a total of 252 picks. Each team is assigned one pick per round based on the reverse order of finish of the 2007 season. In addition, a total of 32 compensatory choices were awarded. New England holds eight total picks - two picks in the third round and one pick in each of the other rounds.

ON THE CLOCK

• Round 1 - 10 min. per selection.

• Round 2 - 7 min. per selection.

• Rounds 3 through 7 - 5 minutes per selection.

PATRIOTS DRAFT STATUSAs of April 14, the Patriots hold eight selections in the 2008 NFL Draft, including two third-round picks. The Patriots hold six assigned selections and control two additional picks which were acquired through trades.

DRAFT-DAY TELEVISION COVERAGENFL Network will provide live draft coverage for the third straight year. Times: NFL Network will provide live coverage of the draft in its entirety, beginning at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday and at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday. The network's signature show, NFL Total Access, will provide complete one-hour recaps of each day's events following live coverage. Total Access will also air a four-hour pre-draft show at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, a one-hour pre-draft show at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday and will have a final draft recap show on Monday, April 28 at 7:00 p.m.

ESPN will provide draft coverage for the 29th consecutive year. Times: ESPN and ESPN2 will televise the draft in its entirety. On Saturday, ESPN will air a live four-hour preview show, Sportscenter: On the Clock, beginning at 11:00 a.m. ESPN will air live draft coverage from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., with ESPN2 picking up coverage from 8:00 p.m. to the conclusion of the first day. On Sunday, ESPN will be on the air with live coverage from 10:00 a.m. until the conclusion of the draft.

PATRIOTS FOOTBALL NETWORK DRAFT COVERAGE

Patriots All-Access has the draft covered from every angle, taking fans inside the Patriots scouting process and into the draft room with exclusive access before, during and after the draft.

The pre-draft edition of Patriots All-Access will air on WCVB-TV Channel 5 On Saturday April 19 at 7:00 p.m. The show goes behind the scenes of the draft process and shows fans how Pro Days and individual workouts help the Patriots gather information crucial to the draft. Head coach Bill Belichick shares his thoughts about the draft and how this year is much different for the Patriots than previous drafts. NFL Network's Mike Mayock, The Boston Globe's Mike Reiss, and former Patriot quarterback Scott Zolak give their thoughts as to who the Patriots may be targeting with the seventh selection.

On Tuesday April 29, at 8:30 p.m.. two days after the draft, a post-draft edition of Patriots All-Access on WCVB-TV Channel 5 will take viewers exclusively inside the Patriots draft room. Additionally, head coach Bill Belichick will sit down to review the draft, and fans will get a chance to meet members of the Patriots 2008 Draft Class. Also see what is important to Tedy Bruschi off the football field.

Patriots All-Access draft coverage can be seen on WCVB-TV Channel 5 at 7:00 p.m. on Sat. April 19 (Draft Preview Show) and at 8:30 p.m. on Tues. April 29 (Draft Wrap-Up Show). New shows air monthly on WCVB-TV throughout the Patriots offseason. After its original airing, Patriots All-Access can be seen anytime on Patriots On Demand, the exclusive Patriots channel for Comcast cable subscribers.

Patriots Today, the Patriots' Web TV show, will have a full first-day draft recap available on Patriots.com following the first day of the draft. Stay tuned to Patriots Today for a recap of the entire Patriots draft on Monday, April 28, featuring exclusive interviews and draft-day access. During the buildup to the draft, a new edition of Patriots Today can be seen every Friday, featuring positional draft previews and all of the latest Patriots news. In addition to watching the show on Patriots.com, fans can also catch Patriots Today on Patriots On Demand, the exclusive Patriots channel for Comcast cable subscribers.

Patriots.com, the official website of the New England Patriots, will feature complete draft coverage during the buildup to the draft and throughout draft weekend. As fans get ready for the draft, Patriots.com will be the place to go for updated mock drafts, interviews with draft prospects and breakdowns of the top prospects at each position. During the draft, an updated Patriots draft board will keep track of all of the Patriots' selections as they happen. Check Patriots.com for biographies, statistics and college highlight videos on the newest members of the team in addition to a recap of each draftee's conference call with the New England media. Head Coach Bill Belichick's draft-day press conferences will be broadcast live and frequent news updates will be posted. Patriots Football Weekly writers will keep a running draft blog beginning on April 21 and running throughout the weekend and will also offer pre- and post-draft podcasts. PFW writers will also dissect the draft as it happens on Patriots.com Radio, which will broadcast live from Gillette Stadium from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Saturday and from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Sunday. Additionally, fans can share their thoughts on the Patriots' picks in a draft-specific Fan Forum and Chat Room.

DRAFT FORMATThe 2008 NFL Draft will consist of seven rounds with a total of 252 picks. The Patriots hold eight selections in the draft, including two choices in the third round. New England holds the seventh overall selection, marking its highest first-round position since selecting five-time Pro Bowler Richard Seymour with the sixth overall pick in 2001. New England holds a top-seven selection for the 13th time since the AFL and NFL drafts merged in 1967.

DRAFT ORDERDetermination of draft order The NFL's 2008 draft order was derived from the reverse order of 2007 regular season records, with the exception of the Super Bowl champions and the Super Bowl runners-up. For teams with identical records, drafting priority is given to any team that did not qualify for the playoffs. The team that advances furthest in the playoffs will draft last in their group (for example, Seattle drafts last among the 10-6 teams). The next tiebreaker is strength of schedule, with the team with the lowest strength of schedule drafting first. The final tiebreaker is a coin flip. The draft order of teams with identical records will rotate by round, with the exception of the Super Bowl champions and the Super Bowl runners-up. 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.

PASSINGIf 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 has made a pick.

NEW FOR 2008The NFL has modified its draft format this year. The first day of drafting will begin at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 26, and will consist of the first and second rounds. Previously, the first day of the draft had begun at noon and had encompassed the first three rounds. The second day of drafting will begin at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, April 27, and will consist of the third through seventh rounds. Previously, the second day of the draft contained the fourth through seventh rounds and began at 11:00 a.m. Additionally, the time limits for selections in the first and second rounds have been shortened. This season, teams will have 10 minutes to make their first-round picks (down from 15 minutes in previous drafts) and will have seven minutes to make their second-round picks (down from 10 minutes in previous drafts). The time for picks in the third through seventh rounds remains at five minutes per pick.

COMPENSATORY DRAFT CHOICESA total of 32 compensatory choices in the 2008 NFL Draft have been awarded to 15 teams. The Patriots did not receive any compensatory selections for the first time since 2004. In last year's draft, New England was awarded the maximum of four compensatory picks. The Patriots have been awarded a total of 19 compensatory selections since the system was adopted in 1993. In 2000, the Patriots used a compensatory draft choice to select QB Tom Brady (sixth round, 199th overall).

Formula: Compensatory free agents are determined by a formula based on salary, playing time and postseason honors. The formula was developed by the NFL Management Council. Not every free agent lost or signed by a club is covered. Numbers and Positioning: The number of picks a team receives equals the net loss of compensatory free agents, with a maximum of four. The compensatory picks are positioned within the third through seventh rounds based on the value of the compensatory free agents lost.

Additional Eligibility: This year, one club (St. Louis) received a compensatory pick even though it did not suffer a net loss of compensatory free agents. Under the NFL Management Council's formula, teams may be eligible for compensatory choices since the compensatory free agents that the teams lost were ranked higher than the ones they signed (by a specified point differential based upon salary and performance).

For more coverage of the 2008 NFL Draft **click here*.*