The 2011 NFL Draft is mere hours away ... I must have typed that a hundred times by now, but it feels re-assuring in these uncertain times, so I will continue to do it. The 49ers are gearing up to use their seventh overall pick, and the Raiders have a keen eye on moving up. ESPN and the NFL Network are both hosting their own respective draft coverage of the event, with both networks already running pre-draft festivities as I type. Chris Berman and the likes of Mel Kiper and Todd McShay will be your go-to guys on ESPN, while Rich Eisen spearheads the solid cast they've got over at the NFL Network, with Mike Mayock and Charlie Casserly to their credit.
I feel like I'm previewing a matchup of some sort, but in reality you can't go wrong. The draft officially begins at 5:04 p.m. pacific, when the Carolina Panthers will be on the clock. Here's the complete draft order if you'd like to peruse it and try and guess when your team will be up (there will be ten minutes between each pick).
On Friday, rounds two and three will begin at 3:30 p.m. pacific, with seven minutes between each pick in round two and five minutes between each pick in round three. Saturday, the draft will conclude with rounds 4-7, with five minutes between each pick.
Lastly, don't forget to check out our streams for the San Francisco 49ers, the Oakland Raiders, and head over to SB Nation's latest 2011 NFL Mock Draft for one last go-round.
The first round of the 2011 NFL Draft starts at 8 p.m. (ET) on Thursday, April 28thand SB Nation has everything you need to prepare for it - NFL mock drafts draft projections, scouting reports, the full NFL draft schedule and more. Check it all out at SB Nation's NFLHub and our NFL Draft blog Mocking the Draft.