NFL Draft on TV will feature Bears at center stage for ESPN, NFL Network broadcasts

The Bears had best be ready for their close-up Thursday night in Detroit, because for at least the first hour and a half of the NFL Draft, they will be in the spotlight.

The traditional TV broadcasts that will air on ESPN and NFL Network will be heavy on the Bears, who own the first and ninth picks of the first round. They’ll be on the clock at 7 p.m.

“Bears fans should get very excited because there’s gonna be a lot, a lot, a lot of time dedicated to the Bears at the top of the draft,” said Charlie Yook, executive producer of NFL Media and a Bears fan himself, having grown up in Glenview.

Both networks will spread their coverage over several platforms. ESPN’s broadcast on ABC will take a human-interest tack, telling the players’ personal stories. The network also will air “The Pat McAfee Show Draft Spectacular” for the first round on its digital channels (YouTube, TikTok, ESPN app, ESPN+). NFL Network will air an alternative broadcast on the NFL Channel, its free ad-supported streamer.

All of them figure to have a Bears bent early, but the traditional shows will lean into the team expected to take USC quarterback Caleb Williams, the top-ranked player on most analysts’ draft board, with the first pick.

“The benefit for the team with the No. 1 pick is we’ll have a lot of time pre-pick to really get into the storylines,” said Drew Gallagher, coordinating producer at ESPN who oversees the traditional broadcast. “As soon as commissioner [Roger] Goodell puts the Bears on the clock, we use that time to talk about the potential fit with the Bears. It’s a franchise-altering moment, and it’s our job to document it.”

Said Yook: “Having the No. 1 pick, that team typically gets a lot of love off the top because we put the team on the clock and we talk about that team ad nauseum until they make the selection. This is something we’re going to dive into from a historical perspective, but also it’s very important to see, if it is Caleb, how does he fit into a [offensive coordinator] Shane Waldron offense.”

The networks won’t tip any picks, a rule they’ve followed for years. After Goodell announces the selection and gives his ceremonial bro hug, Williams would be interviewed on stage by ESPN’s Molly McGrath and NFL Network’s Kaylee Hartung. Both networks also will have reporters stationed at Halas Hall for draft-room reaction: Courtney Cronin of ESPN and Stacey Dales of NFL Network.

But the fun is only beginning, because the Bears are set to be on the clock again within 90 minutes.

“Bears fans, don’t click away, because things are going to be happening there,” Gallagher said. “This is all part of the intrigue that gets us so excited. I’m sort of getting chills right now just talking about it. The best part about the draft is it’s so unpredictable, the excitement that takes over the [production] truck when we hear over the NFL pick line, ‘There’s been a trade.’ It’s the best.”

Counting down

This draft has the potential to be one of, if not the, best-viewed ever. Star power drives the draft, and this one is loaded with it, particularly at quarterback, the highest-profile position in sports. But Yook, as a TV executive would, sees another angle.

“Look at the markets that pick 1-2-3,” he said. “Last year, you had Carolina-Houston-Houston. Wonderful franchises, wonderful towns. But you’re talking Chicago, D.C. and Boston. Pinnacle sports towns, and not only that, football towns, and that’s the differentiating factor.

“And, oh, by the way, it just so happens they all need QBs. You can’t paint a better picture for a draft. It’s so top heavy, we have no idea when we’re taking a commercial. We’re burning the first one at the top, and then once the draft starts, we don’t know.”

ESPN made two additions to its draft coverage, former Alabama coach Nick Saban and former Patriots coach Bill Belichick. Saban will appear on ABC’s broadcast and Belichick on Pat McAfee’s show. ESPN also will have a camera at the Bears’ draft party at Soldier Field.

Both networks understand the significance of the occasion for a franchise with, to say the least, a poor history of developing quarterbacks.

“They could walk out of Thursday night and the entire picture for the franchise looks completely different for the next 10 years,” Gallagher said.

Remote patrol

Here’s a look at local radio and TV coverage plans for the draft:

ESPN 1000, the Bears’ radio home, will broadcast from the team’s draft party at Soldier Field, beginning with the “Waddle & Silvy” show. Bears play-by-play voice Jeff Joniak and analyst Tom Thayer will join and then lead coverage through the night. Dionne Miller, Adam Schefter, Courtney Cronin and David Kaplan also will appear.

The Score’s “Parkins & Spiegel Draft Special” will air after the Cubs game, at approximately 5 p.m. Danny Parkins and Matt Spiegel will be in Detroit, Dave Wannstedt and Patrick Mannelly will be in studio and Mark Grote will be at Halas Hall. Gabe Ramirez, Ramie Makhlouf and Hub Arkush will take over at 9.

NBC Sports Chicago will air “Football Night in Chicago: Draft Night Special” at 6 p.m. and “Chicago Draft Night” at 6:30, followed by the two-hour “Draft Night: First Round Live Reaction.” Host Laurence Holmes will be joined by Alex Brown, Lance Briggs, Ruthie Polinsky, Glynn Morgan, Ken Davis and others.

Fox 32, the Bears’ broadcast TV home, will air “Bears Draft Special” at 5:30 p.m. Lou Canellis and Anthony Herron will host from the Bears’ draft party at Soldier Field, Tina Nguyen will be at Halas Hall and Cassie Carlson will be in Detroit.

NFL Draft TV crews

ABC: Rece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Nick Saban, Field Yates, Laura Rutledge and Pete Thamel.

ESPN: Mike Greenberg, Booger McFarland, Mel Kiper Jr., Louis Riddick, Molly McGrath and Adam Schefter.

NFL Network: Rich Eisen, Daniel Jeremiah, Charles Davis, Joel Klatt, Kurt Warner, Ian Rapoport and Peter Schrager.