NFL

Inside ESPN’s production of hundreds of NFL Draft player highlight reels

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_8IteG9l3g

If an obscure NCAA Division III defensive prospect is drafted in the seventh round of the 2014 NFL Draft, don’t be surprised when a highlight package of the player suddenly pops up on screen after his name is called during the ESPN telecast this weekend.

ESPN’s production team has been hard at work the past four months, reviewing thousands of college football games from the past few seasons and compiling highlight packages for the draft prospects who will be selected during the 16-hour telecast over the three days, Thursday through Saturday.

In all, six ESPN staffers – associate producer Jeremy Drummond, production assistant Kala Bolton and content associates Brandon Barrad, Damien Esparza, Aaron Hilton and Chris Jarmon – have prepared 316 highlight-reel packages, the most ever for this event.

Drummond, who is working on his sixth NFL Draft, estimates the team spent an average of 50-70 hours per week since February reviewing game film and identifying the right clips for each individual package.

In the video above, he and other members of the team explain all the work that goes into one of the most crucial elements of ESPN’s NFL Draft preparation.

EDITOR’S NOTE: ESPN’s 2014 NFL Draft presented by Bud Light begins Thursday, May 8, at 8 p.m. ET. TV schedule and programming details.

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