watch NFL Draft online

The 2023 NFL Draft will air live from Thursday April 27 until Saturday April 29. To be held at Union Station in Kansas City, the 2023 NFL Draft will consist of 259 selections as 32 NFL teams attempt to unearth the next set of NFL stars among this year’s top eligible college talents. In this post, we’ll explain how you can watch the NFL Draft online from anywhere with the help of a Virtual Private Network (VPN).

You can even watch the 2023 NFL Draft online free thanks to a few key streaming options. 

Important note: Our guide only recommends official sources for the 2023 NFL Draft. The NFL Draft is a highly anticipated event for NFL fans, but the broadcast is often streamed through unofficial sites. These sites may also hide malware and adware or may serve as a gateway to other privacy and security threats.

Meanwhile, unofficial sources won’t offer the best streaming quality and are more likely to go offline unexpectedly. As the 2023 NFL Draft is available through numerous official sources, there’s no need to turn to sites that may put you at risk or cause you to miss out on the action. We recommend only official options, some of which may be free and accessible from anywhere in the world.

If you’re traveling abroad, you may need to use a VPN to watch the 2023 NFL Draft on your usual services. 

How to watch the 2023 NFL Draft online with a VPN

The NFL Draft was previously only broadcast in the US. However, thanks to negotiated contracts, NFL Game Pass is now a viable option almost anywhere in the world to watch not just one but every round of the 2023 NFL draft online. US fans who want to use NFL Game Pass to live stream the 2023 Draft will need a VPN.

Here’s how to watch the 2023 NFL Draft live stream online:

  1. Sign up for a VPN that’s tested and working with streaming services. We recommend NordVPN, although Surfshark and ExpressVPN work with the streaming services that will broadcast the NFL Draft.
  2. Install the VPN app onto your chosen device (Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Amazon Fire TV, etc.), and then connect to a US city where streaming is available (more on this below).
  3. Sign up for the streaming service of your choice, or connect to the live streaming site you plan to use. We highly recommend testing your VPN and streaming options before the event to ensure you don’t miss any of the major reveals and announcements.
  4. That’s it! If your VPN isn’t working, try clearing your cache and cookies in your web browser, closing the browser completely, and then opening up a new session. You may also want to try running in a private browsing window, such as Chrome’s Incognito mode, or Firefox’s Private Window.

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Many mobile apps now require you to verify your location using GPS. There is often no effective bypass for this, so we recommend sticking to using a web browser, or a TV-connected device, such as the Amazon Fire TV. (Note that there are no VPN apps for the Roku or Apple TV.)

Let’s explore some of your best options to watch the 2023 NFL Draft online from anywhere in the world, including free options.

How to watch the NFL Draft for free in the US

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The NFL Draft will be broadcast through all of the following networks:

  • ABC
  • ESPN
  • ESPN Deportes
  • NFL Network
  • NFL+

Here’s the best part: FuboTV and YouTube TV both carry ABC and ESPN, and both offer a free trial. This means you can stream the 2023 NFL Draft online for free, provided you remember to cancel in time.

If you’re in the US and have a digital over-the-air antenna, you can also pick up your local ABC broadcast and watch for free. Alternatively, you’ll need to sign up for one of the following services to get access to ABC, ESPN, ESPN Deportes, or the NFL Network:

  • YouTube TV: Seven-day trial, carries ABC, ESPN, and NFL Network
  • FuboTV: Seven-day trial, carries ABC, ESPN, and NFL Network
  • Sling TV: $40 USD per month, carries ABC, ESPN, and NFL Network
  • Hulu + Live TV: $69.99 per month, carries ABC, ESPN, and NFL Network

The above services are only available in the US. If you’re traveling abroad, you can take advantage of NordVPN’s 30-day money-back guarantee to stream the NFL Draft risk-free.

Where else can I stream the NFL Draft online?

This year’s NFL Draft will be broadcast in several countries outside of the US too. Here’s a quick rundown of where you can watch in the rest of the world:

Canada

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There are two places Canadian fans can stream the 2023 NFL Draft: DAZN and TSN. Unfortunately, neither service offers a free trial anymore, but if your cable package includes TSN, you can sign into the website and watch at no added cost.

If you’re looking to watch the NFL Draft online without cable, you’ll have to pay $24.99 CAD per month for DAZN or $19.99 monthly for TSN. Both of these services are geo-blocked, but you can use them as normal by connecting to a Canadian VPN server for a Canadian IP address.

UK

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Sky Sports will be showing the NFL Draft in the UK. Existing Sky TV subscribers can sign into the Sky Go app and watch live at no added cost. Alternatively, you can sign up for a Sports pass on Now to stream the NFL Draft without cable. These cost £34.99 per month and unfortunately, don’t include a free trial.

Sky Go and Now TV won’t be showing the draft outside of the UK. However, if you’re traveling, you can use a VPN to get a UK IP address to access them.

NFL Draft 2023: Event schedule, details, and top prospects

The NFL Draft is a three-day event covering 7 rounds. The event schedule is as follows:

  • Round 1: Thursday, April 27, 8 PM EST / 1 AM BST
  • Rounds 2-3: Friday, April 28, 7 PM EST / 12 AM BST
  • Rounds 4-7: Saturday, April 29, 12 PM EST / 5 PM BST

How does the NFL Draft work?

The NFL Draft is the primary event for NFL teams to draft new young players. However, a fair amount of pick trading occurs, which teams can do in order to move up in the draft, or move down but increase their number of draft picks.

The teams with the worst records typically get the first pick each round, while the teams with the best record get the last pick. This year, there are 259 picks across all 32 teams in the NFL.

The first-round pick order this year is as follows:

  1. Carolina Panthers
  2. Houston Texans
  3. Arizona Cardinals
  4. Indianapolis Colts
  5. Seattle Seahawks
  6. Detroit Lions
  7. Las Vegas Raiders
  8. Atlanta Falcons
  9. Chicago Bears
  10. Philadelphia Eagles
  11. Tennessee Titans
  12. Houston Texans
  13. Green Bay Packers
  14. New England Patriots
  15. New York Jets
  16. Washington Commanders
  17. Pittsburgh Steelers
  18. Detroit Lions
  19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  20. Seattle Seahawks
  21. Los Angeles Chargers
  22. Baltimore Ravens
  23. Minnesota Vikings
  24. Jacksonville Jaguars
  25. New York Giants
  26. Dallas Cowboys
  27. Buffalo Bills
  28. Cincinnati Bengals
  29. New Orleans Saints
  30. Philadelphia Eagles
  31. Kansas City Chiefs

Note that there are only 31 picks in the first round this year. The Miami Dolphins had to forfeit their first round pick due to repeatedly violating the league’s anti-tampering policy.

Top 2023 NFL Draft prospects

With only 259 picks to go around, not every prospect will make the cut. However, here are some of the top 2023 NFL Draft prospects to watch, many of whom may be grabbed up in the first round.

  1. Bryce Young, QB, Alabama
  2. C.J. Stroud, QB, Ohio State
  3. Bijan Robinson, RB, Texas
  4. Will Anderson Jr., OLB, Alabama
  5. Jalen Carter, DT, Georgia
  6. Tyree Wilson, DE, Texas Tech
  7. Devon Witherspoon, CB, Illinois
  8. Christian Gonzalez, CB, Oregon
  9. Peter Skoronski, OT, Northwestern
  10. Anthony Richardson, QB, Florida

Check The Draft Network for a longer list of 2023 NFL Draft prospects.