2011 NFL Draft = Record viewership for NFL Network

NFL Network posted its best ever NFL Draft viewership averaging a record 566,000 viewers over the three days of the 2011 NFL Draft (previous mark: 560,000 in 2010).

Viewership notes from NFL Network’s 2011 NFL Draft coverage:

• NFL Network’s average audience for Friday night’s coverage of Rounds 2-3 marked the net’s second-best Day 2 audience ever.

Back-to-Back Draft Records on NFL Network

• Highest Rated NFL Draft Rounds 2 and 3 Ever on NFL Network.
• NFL Network Day 2 Draft national household rating (.39)  UP +3% from 2010 and the up 22% from 2009
• Second best Day 2 viewership ever (549,000 viewers)
• Follows the highest Draft Day 1/Round 1 audience ever for NFL Network that averaged 1.04 million viewers

MOST WATCHED FIRST ROUND DRAFT COVERAGE EVER ON NFL NETWORK!

More News & Quotes From the First Round of 2011 NFL Draft & Total Access Pre-Draft Show

Interviews with Titans QB Jake Locker, Broncos LB Von Miller, Bengals Head Coach Marvin Lewis & 49ers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh

“I expected four quarterbacks [to be taken in the first round]; I didn’t expect it that early and I didn’t expect that order.” – Mike Mayock on four quarterbacks drafted in the first 12 picks of the first round

“This is a statement.” – Mayock on the Atlanta Falcons trading up to get Julio Jones

“I love him on the move. He reminds me of Aaron Rodgers.” – Steve Mariucci on Jake Locker

Highest rated and most-watched NFL Draft Round 1 ever on NFL Network.

• Last night’s coverage marked the largest Draft Day 1/Round 1 audience ever for NFL Network
• The 2011 NFL Draft Round 1 averaged 1.04 million viewers, an INCREASE compared to last year’s Round 1 average audience (1.03 million viewers)
• Since 2007, NFL Network’s NFL Draft Day 1 average viewers has tripled.

• 7.0 million avg. viewers for first round across ESPN & NFLN – second-most watched first round ever
• 3.6 million average for NBA playoff games on TNT (LAL/NO and DAL/POR) in same 8:15-11:45 time period.

Quotes from First Round of 2011 NFL Draft:

“In the division they’re in – as talented a quarterback division as there is -, they’re gifted up front with good offensive linemen, they can run the football. Give this kid a chance.” – Mike Mayock on the Carolina Panthers selecting Cam Newton

“When you start to train this guy, and on the other hand allow him to do what he does best, you might have a very special quarterback because his athleticism and size and arm strength are rare.” – Steve Mariucci on Cam Newton

“This is the premier edge rusher in this draft.” – Mike Mayock on Von Miller going to the Denver Broncos

“When you think about him and Elvis Dumervil, you have two edge rushers. You can get after the passer now and that’s what this league is all about now.” – Marshall Faulk on Von Miller

“This kid is a 320-pound animal with rare movement skills. I love the pick.” – Mike Mayock on the Buffalo Bills selecting Marcell Dareus

“Pretty amazing decision there for Cincinnati. … Chad Ochocinco has one year left on his contract; is this merely a replacement for Chad, or can they live together for a future term? Because the bottom line to me is if you lose Chad, all you did is replace one guy with another and you haven’t helped your ball club.” – Mike Mayock on the Cincinnati Bengals selecting A.J. Green

“This guy gives you that Randy Moss ability up the field to make plays, [along] with the ability to run routes and catch the ball and run after the catch.” – Michael Irvin on A.J. Green

“They think they can compete in the NFC West, and it tells me by not getting a quarterback they think they can get a veteran.” – Mike Mayock on the Arizona Cardinals selecting Patrick Peterson

“They get a ballplayer that might be the best player in the draft.” – Mike Mayock on Patrick Peterson

“This is a statement. We’re making a move from 27 to 6, and we’re saying that our quarterback’s in the prime of his career.” – Mike Mayock on the Atlanta Falcons trading up to draft Julio Jones

“I don’t discount this kid’s ability; I’ve said from day one he’s a first-round pick. However, what I will tell you is those guys are tied at the hip – the head coach and the GM – with that pick going forward.” – Mike Mayock on the Tennessee Titans selecting Jake Locker

“I love him on the move. He reminds me of Aaron Rodgers.” – Steve Mariucci on Jake Locker

“I say it’s competition at quarterback. When you look at David Garrard, when he played his best is when Byron Leftwich was there and he was competing for the job. Now he’s going to have to compete for his job with a rookie quarterback that they’ve moved up [for].” – Marshall Faulk on the Jacksonville Jaguars moving up to draft Blaine Gabbert

“The AFC South has a whole new dynamic in the last hour. That’s how a draft can change things instantly with two new rookie quarterbacks in the division and a new guy in Houston to go hunt Peyton Manning in J.J. Watt.” – Rich Eisen on the Titans selecting Jake Locker, Jaguars selecting Blaine Gabbert and Texans selecting J.J. Watt

“It doesn’t matter where you draft a guy if three years from now you’re in the Super Bowl. It doesn’t matter if you draft him at 12 or you draft him at 110; if you believe the guy is a franchise quarterback as Rick Spielman did, I applaud the move, but he put himself at risk.” – Mike Mayock on the Vikings drafting Christian Ponder

“He’s one of those lucky guys that, there wasn’t any free agency, and all of a sudden the Vikings need a quarterback.” – Steve Mariucci on Christian Ponder

“He’s got a lot to learn from a technique perspective, but if you want to talk about upside at that position – getting to the quarterback – I think he’s the guy with the most upside of any defensive end in this draft.” – Mike Mayock on Robert Quinn going to the St. Louis Rams

“He has everything – he can play press, he can play off. My only question with him is ball skills. I think with his back to the quarterback he struggles to find the football. But outside of that, I give him a checkmark everywhere.” – Mike Mayock on Prince Amukamara going to the New York Giants

“The last two picks are bodyguards for these expensive quarterbacks.” – Steve Mariucci on the selections of Anthony Castonzo (Indianapolis Colts) and Danny Watkins (Philadelphia Eagles)

“We talk about guys that have had issues with character. What do you do? You put them in a strong locker room. There is no stronger locker room in the National Football League than the one that Ray Lewis and Ed Reed leads for the Baltimore Ravens.” – Michael Irvin on the Baltimore Ravens selecting Jimmy Smith

“This is a win-win: the Ravens get a top-10 talent on the edge; Jimmy Smith gets Ray Lewis and Ed Reed.” – Mike Mayock on Jimmy Smith going to Baltimore

“It reminds me of Felix Jones going to the Dallas Cowboys. You have a guy in Mark Ingram whom a lot of people were thinking he was going to have to carry a franchise. But now, he’s just a piece of a puzzle for the New Orleans Saints. But he’s a huge piece when you think about what they do.” – Marshall Faulk on the New Orleans Saints selecting Mark Ingram

“At [number] 12, Rick Spielman pulling the trigger on Christian Ponder was to me the biggest surprise of the entire first round.” – Mike Mayock on the Minnesota Vikings selecting Christian Ponder

Quotes From Friday’s Total Access Pre-Draft Show:

“I expected four quarterbacks [to be taken in the first round]; I didn’t expect it that early and I didn’t expect that order.” – Mike Mayock on four quarterbacks drafted in the first 12 picks of the first round

“When I watch him play for the Tennessee Titans, Vince Young comes to mind. … Early on in [Locker’s] tenure, he’s going to make plays with his legs, he’s going to escape the pocket, that’s where he’s going to make his plays. Does that sound familiar? … But what you get with the makeup of Jake Locker gives you feeling that in a few years he’s going to mature and we’re going to have a big-time leader on our hands.” – Charles Davis on the Tennessee Titans drafting Jake Locker

“For the long-term good of the organization, I love the move. They’ve got the number one quarterback on my board and luckily for Blaine Gabbert, he gets to sit for a year – in my opinion. And justifiably so because he’s not ready.” – Mike Mayock on the Jacksonville Jaguars selecting Blaine Gabbert

“That back end – the linebackers and the secondary – only D.J. Williams was drafted there; everyone else they got from someplace else, which means you’re trying to cover up mistakes or cover up a defense that hasn’t been pretty good. So they have an opportunity [in the draft].” – Brian Billick on the Denver Broncos building their defense through the draft

“I don’t think they have an option. Unfortunately they don’t have a guy that they can allow him to sit back, learn the ropes on and off the field. He’s going to have to start from day one.” – Kurt Warner on why Cam Newton should start for the Carolina Panthers at the start of the season

“He has maybe the best upside from this standpoint: they’re looking at the Matt Ryan profile. I have a great running back in [Adrian] Peterson behind, he can go to a great tight end in Visanthe Shiancoe, I have Sidney Rice outside, I have Percy Harvin, I have a pretty good offensive line and a good defense.” – Brian Billick on Christian Ponder

“If you want to try to entice Carson [Palmer] to come back, here’s a group that you can mold, that you can teach, that you can get them and show them from day one, ‘This is how we need it done, this is how we can be successful.’” – Kurt Warner on the young Cincinnati Bengals wide receivers

“[Second round], the quarterbacks are going to be the major theme here because where they go and how it starts to flow is going to be the most fascinating question.” – Michael Lombardi on the second round

“That’s what you do if you’re trying to improve your football team to a championship level: you make those bold moves. And that’s what the Atlanta Falcons chose to do.” – Torry Holt on the Atlanta Falcons trading up from 27 to 6 to get Julio Jones

“Receivers are almost always going to teams that need one. They’re not just, ‘Oh let’s grab a receiver;’ you have to target a receiver.” – Michael Lombardi on drafting wide receivers

“They’re not going to force Jake to start, and that’s not their intentions and that’s not why they picked him. They didn’t pick him for this season, they picked him for the future. He still needs to develop and they’re going to give him the opportunity to develop. … I look for Tennessee to go out and get themselves a veteran quarterback that can mentor Jake a little bit.” – Jim Mora on the Tennessee Titans selecting Jake Locker

“You want to talk about a big-time player with a second-round pick? That’s who this guy is. He can help you in the return game, he’s a big-time player. He gets in and out of breaks and runs better routes than any wide receiver in this draft.” – Mike Mayock on Titus Young

“It was big night for them and a big night for our program. … The thing about those two guys – Gabe [Carimi] and J.J. [Watt] – they both represent so much about what we like to think of being a Wisconsin-type kid.” – Wisconsin head coach and guest analyst Bret Bielema on former Wisconsin players Gabe Carimi and J.J. Watt

Interview with Tennessee Titans Quarterback Jake Locker

Link to the interview:

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-network-total-access/09000d5d81f942d4/Locker-live-from-Tennessee

Rich Eisen: “The new quarterback of the Tennessee Titans, Jake Locker. How does that sound to you Jake?”

Jake Locker: “It sounds great.”

Eisen: “What was that experience like for you on draft night? Did you have an inkling that the Titans might grab you with their first overall pick?”

Locker: “I knew that they were interested throughout the whole process. They had kind of taken me through the different steps of the process, but I didn’t know for sure if they’d take me at [number] eight.”

Mike Mayock: “We met back at the Senior Bowl and talked a little bit about how long of a process this really is. From the end of your last game as a senior until draft day, can you just fill us in a little bit about whether it was grueling, it was fun, it was what you expected? What was it?”

Locker: “Yeah it was fun. There were some parts of it I didn’t expect but overall it was a fun process because it gave you the opportunity to have your name called like it was yesterday. It was a dream come true and that’s how I’ve tried to approach every part of this process. Having fun with it and enjoying it for what it was. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Eisen: “How quickly did the Titans put a playbook in your hand, Jake?”

Locker: “We went over some of the stuff this morning and kind of got a good introduction to what they run offensively.”

Mayock: “When you look at that playbook, did they, number one, give you any indication as to how much actual coaching you can expect over the next few days? And then number two, tell me what that playbook looks like compared to the University of Washington.”

Locker: “They probably know just as much as you guys about what we’re going to be able to do depending on how everything is ruled later today. As far as the size, there’s a little more in-depth, there’s a little more detail into this playbook now, and that’s something that I’m going to have to pay attention to and master.”

Eisen: “Are you relieved that now with all of this, all of that baseball talk is going away? No one’s going to ask you if you want to play baseball anymore.”

Locker: “That’s right. I don’t have to answer that question anymore. It’s nice.”

Interview with Denver Broncos Linebacker Von Miller

Link to the interview:

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-draft/09000d5d81f93cf7/The-newest-Bronco

On his emotional reaction upon being drafted:

“When I was talking to those guys, I had a flashback to little league and all of the teams that I’ve been on. All of the adversity that me and my teammates have been through to get to this point, and to be able to experience it with my mom and my dad and my brother and my grandmother, all of the people that were with me when adversity was present. It was great to experience that with them.”

On his role on the Broncos:

“To just contribute to wins; that’s what it boils down to. Just shedding blocks, making plays and putting your teammates in great situations to get the [win]. There’s nothing like a locker room after wins and I’m looking forward to experiencing that with my teammates.”

On facing quarterbacks such as Tom Brady and Philip Rivers:

“Me and my teammates, we’re going to be working to make their jobs extremely hard. Hopefully we can get it done.”

Interview with Cincinnati Bengals Head Coach Marvin Lewis

On wide receiver A.J. Green:

“I think A.J. can do all of the things that you want as I said from a well-rounded wide receiver. Both the blocking parts, the run after the catch, playing in different spots; he knows he needs to do that.”

On what to do at the quarterback position:

“Well we have a couple of guys here and we’ll kind of address things as we go. At some point here also in the National Football League this year we may have an opportunity in some free agent players and so forth. So we have to kind of go about it in a step-by-step manner as we’re allowed to do it.”

Interview with San Francisco 49ers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh

Link to the interview:

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-draft/09000d5d81f926d6/Harbaugh-talks-about-Day-1-pick

On the reason for selecting Aldon Smith:

“A lot of reasons. We love him as a football player and we love him as a guy: All-American type of wiring, very good guy to be around. Strong football player, will add to our defense and add to our pass rush.”

On if they felt Smith was the best player available:

“There’s a lot of really good football players in the draft, especially when you’re picking up there in the top 10. So, you start to realize that you’re not going to be able to take all of them, and most all of them are going to be playing against you. So you take the best player that you feel is the fit for your football team. We think he was the best available and we think he was the best fit.”

On if they are looking to get a quarterback in the rest of the draft:

“We’ll see. Like I said, there’s still a lot of good football players left and we’ll get one pick every 32 picks; that’s really the way it boils down.”

Video Links:

– The NFL Network draft crew recaps the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft:

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-draft/09000d5d81f8f057/2011-NFL-Draft-Day-1-impressions

– First overall pick Cam Newton talks with Deion Sanders after being drafted by the Carolina Panthers:

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-draft/09000d5d81f8bee0/Cam-on-being-No-1-overall

– Tennessee Titans select Jake Locker, surprising the NFL Network draft crew:

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-draft/09000d5d81f8c97a/Titans-take-Jake-Locker-No-8

– Interview with Mark Ingram upon being drafted by the New Orleans Saints:

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-draft/09000d5d81f8e957/Mark-Ingram-interview

– Analysts Jim Mora, Kurt Warner and Torry Holt discuss if Cam Newton should start for the Carolina Panthers Week One:

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-draft/09000d5d81f92584/Panthers-decision-for-week-one-QB

– Analyst Charley Casserly discusses the best wide receivers still available in the draft:

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-draft/09000d5d81f92f8e/Best-WR-remaining

– Which player selected in the first round should be the favorite for the 2011 Defensive Rookie of the Year:

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-draft/09000d5d81f93815/Defensive-ROY-debate

– 2011 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees Marshall Faulk, Shannon Sharpe and Richard Dent, and 2004 inductee Barry Sanders stop by the set:

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-draft/09000d5d81f9458d/Hall-of-Famers-talk-draft

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