NFL teams will now need some clock management at the draft, too.

Teams were notified on Wednesday that, beginning with the 2026 draft, time will shorten between picks in the first round, going from 10 minutes to eight.

That will shave over an hour off the festivities planned for April 23 in Pittsburgh next year, good news for weary analysts and fans who have spent almost four hours taking in the first round of recent drafts.

It’s a problem commissioner Roger Goodell has long been thinking about.

Commissioner Roger Goodell rides on stage on a bike during the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft on April 24, 2025 in Green Bay. Getty Images

“I started thinking last night that we gotta shorten [the draft],” he told Pat McAfee on the former punter’s titular show after opening night of the

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