5 things to know about the NFL draft

Credit: Elsa

Credit: Elsa

The 83rd NFL draft is this week in Arlington, Texas.

Here is what you need to know before the league’s annual talent grab kicks off:

1. Round one is Thursday night, and fans will have more viewing options. 

For the first time, the entire draft will be available on broadcast television as Fox will simulcast the NFL Network’s coverage of rounds 1-3 on its broadcast channel. ABC will simulcast ESPN’s coverage of rounds 4-7.

Along with the traditional broadcast on ESPN, the College GameDay crew will provide a "college-themed viewing option of round one" on ESPN2.

The second and third rounds are scheduled for Friday night and the rest of the draft will be held Saturday.

2. Quarterbacks will dominate the storylines even more than usual. 

Josh Allen of Wyoming, Sam Darnold of USC, Josh Rosen of UCLA, Baker Mayfield of Oklahoma and Lamar Jackson of Louisville are all in the mix to be taken in the first round.

The last time five quarterbacks were taken in the first round was 1999, when the Browns took Tim Couch out of Kentucky with the No. 1 pick and the Bengals selected Akili Smith out of Oregon two picks later.

The most QBs taken in one draft is six (1983).

3. The Cleveland Browns will pick first for the second year in a row. 

Last year, they went with Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett.

This time they are expected to pick a quarterback, though they could go with Penn State running back Saquon Barkley.

The Browns pick again at No. 4, so they could end up with the PSU star and their quarterback of the future.

4. The Cincinnati Bengals pick 21st. 

The Bengals traded down from the 12th slot to get offensive lineman Cordy Glenn from the Bills.

That helped address a glaring need in Cincinnati, and team officials say it makes picking addressing a need and picking the best player available easier rather than having to choose one or the other.

RELATED: 7-round mock draft

They might go for another offensive tackle, address the overall team speed on defense or perhaps take a center.

5. Ohio State will be heavily involved again. 

Eleven Buckeyes were invited to the NFL Scouting Combine with Denzel Ward, Billy Price and Sam Hubbard considered the best available prospects.

Ward and Ohio State coach Urban Meyer are scheduled to be at the draft.

If Ward chosen in the first round, Ohio State would become the first school in the common draft era (since 1967) to have five defensive backs selected in the first round over a three-year span.

One of the potential storylines to watch Saturday: Will anyone take a flier on J.T. Barrett?

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