ESPN Announces Talent Lineup for 2012 NFL Draft

ESPN has announced its commentator lineup for the 2012 NFL Draft Presented by Bud Light, its 33rd consecutive year of televising the event. The three-day telecast will air April 26-28 on ESPN and be available via WatchESPN with the first two nights in primetime.

Chris Berman (covering his 32nd NFL Draft) will host ESPN’s primetime coverage Thursday, April 26 and Friday, April 27, at Radio City Music Hall in New York. He will be joined by analyst Mel Kiper, Jr. (working his 29th Draft) and Monday Night Football analyst and Super Bowl-winning head coach Jon Gruden on ESPN’s main set. Senior NFL Insider Chris Mortensen and NFL Insider Adam Schefter will report from an additional set at Radio City, while NFL32 host Suzy Kolber will conduct interviews on-site with draft prospects.

Former Indianapolis Colts President and Vice Chairman Bill Polian, a six-time NFL Executive of the Year, will be part of ESPN’s NFL Draft coverage for the first time. During the opening round, he will appear from Bristol alongside NFL Live host Trey Wingo. On Friday and Saturday, Polian will be on-set at Radio City. ESPN Scouts Inc. director of college scouting Todd McShay will have a similar schedule, shifting from the ESPN studios in Bristol to New York on Days 2 and 3.

ESPN’s NFL Draft telecast on Day 3 (Rounds 4-7) will feature Wingo hosting from Radio City with Trent Dilfer, Kiper, McShay, Mortensen, Polian and Schefter.  Kolber will co-host from Bristol with analysts Tedy Bruschi, Herm Edwards and Ron Jaworski.

ESPN’s comprehensive NFL Draft coverage will include SportsCenter Special: On the Clock shows, Presented by Castrol Edge, leading up to the NFL Draft telecasts all three days. Wingo will host the Thursday and Friday specials at 5 p.m. from Bristol with McShay and many of ESPN’s top studio analysts, including Cris Carter, Dilfer, Tom Jackson, Ron Jaworski, Keyshawn Johnson, Polian and Steve Young.

Sunday’s coverage includes a two-hour SportsCenter Special: Draft Wrap Up at 5 p.m. on ESPN2 with Wendi Nix, Bruschi, Edwards, Kiper and McShay. The program will re-air at 10 p.m. on ESPN2 and on Monday at 8 p.m. on ESPN2.

ESPN will dispatch reporters to team sites across the country, including: Josina Anderson (St. Louis Rams), Bob Holtzman (Cleveland Browns), Rachel Nichols (Miami Dolphins), Sal Paolantonio (New York Jets) and Ed Werder (Dallas Cowboys).

ESPN Radio

Mike Hill and three-time Super Bowl champion Mark Schlereth, co-hosts of ESPN Radio’s Hill & Schlereth, will anchor ESPN Radio’s 2012 NFL Draft coverage Thursday and Friday, April 26-27, from Radio City Music Hall with ESPN.com senior NFL writer John Clayton. ESPN Radio’s coverage will start Thursday at 7 p.m. (Round 1) and Friday at 6 p.m. (Rounds 2-3). ESPN Radio will also present news and updates Saturday from Rounds 4-7.

ESPN’s NFL Draft Promotional Campaign

Set to the song Bright Lights, Bigger City by singer-songwriter Cee Lo Green, a spot titled NFL Draft, Big City debuted today as part of ESPN’s 2012 NFL Draft promotional campaign. The spot features a group of top NFL Draft prospects — quarterbacks Andrew Luck (Stanford) and Robert Griffin III (Baylor), running back Trent Richardson (Alabama), and wide receiver Justin Blackmon (Oklahoma State) — and will air on ESPN’s event and studio programming through Thursday, April 26.

ESPN NFL Draft TV schedule (Apr. 26-29):

* Note: some coverage could air on ESPN2 due to NBA playoffs

NFL Draft Presented by Bud Light – ESPN’s schedule in 2012:

ESPN – Thursday:

Radio City Music Hall in New York City —

• Main Set: Chris Berman, Jon Gruden and Mel Kiper, Jr.
• Second Set: Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter
• Reporter: Suzy Kolber

Bristol, Conn. –

• SportsCenter Special: On the Clock Presented by Castrol Edge (3-4 p.m.): Wendi Nix, Tedy Bruschi, Herm Edwards, Todd McShay and Bill Polian
• NFL Live (4-5 p.m.): Nix, Bruschi, Edwards, McShay and Polian
• SportsCenter Special: On the Clock Presented by Castrol Edge (5-7:30 p.m.): Trey Wingo, Cris Carter, Trent Dilfer, Tom Jackson, Ron Jaworski, Keyshawn Johnson, Todd McShay, Bill Polian and Steve Young
• SportsCenter Special: Draft Countdown Presented by CARFAX (7:30-8 p.m.): show originates  from New York with crews from Bristol and Radio City

NFL Team Sites — Josina Anderson (St. Louis Rams), Bob Holtzman (Cleveland Browns), Rachel Nichols (Miami Dolphins), Sal Paolantonio (New York Jets) and Ed Werder (Dallas Cowboys).

ESPN – Friday:

Radio City Music Hall in New York City —

• Main Set: Berman, Gruden and Kiper; McShay will join the group in Round 3
• Second Set: Mortensen, Polian and Schefter

Bristol, Conn. –

• SportsCenter Special: On the Clock Presented by Castrol Edge (3-4 p.m.): Nix, Bruschi and Edwards
• NFL Live (4-5 p.m.): Nix, Bruschi and Edwards
• SportsCenter Special: On the Clock Presented by Castrol Edge (5-7 p.m.): Wingo, Carter, Dilfer, Jackson, Jaworski, Johnson and Young

ESPN – Saturday:

Radio City Music Hall in New York City —

• Main Set: Wingo, Dilfer, Kiper and McShay
• Second Set: Mortensen, Polian and Schefter

Bristol, Conn. –

• SportsCenter Special: On the Clock Presented by Castrol Edge (10 a.m.-12 p.m.) and NFL Draft: Kolber, Bruschi, Edwards and Jaworski

ESPN – Sunday: 

Bristol, Conn. –

• SportsCenter Special: Draft Wrap Up (5-7 p.m.): Nix, Bruschi, Edwards, Kiper and McShay (The program will re-air at 10 p.m. on ESPN2 and on Monday at 8 p.m. on ESPN2)

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