The NFL FL Draft – the choice of the best young football talents – should be the starting signal for a new era on German TV. But it started with a nasty surprise.

Because: With the first NFL broadcast by RTL, which has taken over the TV rights from ProSieben since the new season, there was a big glitch. When the Indianapolis Colts announced the fourth pick, the RTL special interest channel Nitro, where the draft was broadcast on TV, was simply in advertising.

So the NFL fans didn’t see the pick live. RTL only went back on the air five minutes later. Moderator Jan Stecker, who moderated with the experts Markus Kuhn and Sebastian Vollmer, when things continued after the commercial: “All hell broke loose here, the fourth pick came in.” That’s right, only without broadcasting on German TV.

That’s why there was a lot of frustration on Twitter, for example. One user wrote: “Are you serious about advertising the 4th pick and missing it completely?” Another wrote: “Well, we’ll practice advertising again, or will we only get back on pick 20?” The official The RTLplus account commented: “Sorry, pee break lasted too long, we promise to get better!”

But it didn’t really get any better. The fans didn’t get the 12th pick live either. RTL showed an interview there. With Pick 18, the broadcaster was once again in advertising – but then you went into the show with a time delay, without admitting the renewed glitch.

At least the number one pick was shown. As expected, the Carolina Panthers selected Alabama quarterback Bryce Young (21). The quarterback, who won the Heisman Trophy as the player of the season in the 2021 college season, is now said to be the future of the Panthers. Shortly after, he explained: “It’s just crazy. I’m super thankful to be here. As outstanding as everything is today, the work begins tomorrow. I want to show my best side to the franchise, to the fans, to the coaches.”

Young was one of three quarterbacks selected in the top four positions. The Houston Texans secured C.J. Stroud in second, fourth place went to Anthony Richardson of the Indianapolis Colts.

Actually, the Chicago Bears would have been the worst team of the 2022 season. The Bears agreed to a trade with the Panthers well in advance of the draft. Carolina gave several picks (first and second round pick 2023, first round pick 2024 and second round pick 2025) as well as star player D.J. Moore off.

Venue this year is Kansas City, Missouri. Over 100,000 fans attended the home of the Kansas City Chiefs. The other six rounds of the draft will last until Sunday (German time).

Huge surprise: The Texans trade up from 12 to 3, picking second and third place. They got the 12th pick from the trade with Browns quarterback DeShaun Watson. The price for the new trade is pick #12, a second round pick this year, and a first and third round pick in 2024.

Among the young talents who have registered for the draft this year are three German football players. Kilian Zierer, Lorenz Metz and Marlon Werthmann will probably only be selected – if at all – in the later rounds on Friday and Saturday. Rounds two and three of the draft are on Friday, rounds four through seven are on Saturday.

1. Carolina Panthers – Bryce Young (Quarterback, Alabama)

2. Houston Texans – C.J. Stroud (Quarterback, Ohio State)

3. Houston Texans – Will Anderson Jr. (Defensive End, Alabama)

4. Indianapolis Colts – Anthony Richardson (Quarterback, Florida)

5. Seattle Seahawks – Devon Witherspoon (Cornerback, Illinois)

6. Arizona Cardinals – Paris Johnson Jr. (Offensive Tackle, Ohio State)

7. Las Vegas Raiders – Tyree Wilson (EDGE, Texas Tech)

8. Atlanta Falcons – Bijan Robinson (Running Back, Texas)

9. Philadelphia Eagles – Jalen Carter (Defensive Tackle, Georgia)

10. Chicago Bears – Darnell Wright (Offensive Tackle, Tennessee)

11. Tennessee Titans – Peter Skoronski (Offensive Tackle, Northwestern)

12. Detroit Lions – Jahmyr Gibbs (Running Back, Alabama)

13. Green Bay Packers – Lukas Van Ness (Defensive End, Iowa)

14. Pittsburgh Steelers – Broderick Jones (Offensive Tackle, Georgia)

15. New York Jets – Will McDonald IV (EDGE, Iowa St.)

16. Washington Commanders – Emmanuel Forbes (Cornerback, Mississippi St.)

17. New England Patriots – Christian Gonzalez (Cornerback, Oregon)

18. Detroit Lions – Jack Campbell (Linebacker, Iowa)

19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Calijah Kancey (Defensive Tackle, Pittsburgh)

20. Seattle Seahawks – Jaxon Smith-Njigba (Wide Receiver, Ohio St.)

21. Los Angeles Chargers – Quentin Johnston (Wide Receiver, TCU)

22. Baltimore Ravens – Zay Flowers (Wide Receiver, Boston College)

23. Minnesota Vikings – Jordan Addison (Wide Receiver, USC)

24. New York Giants – Deonte Banks (Cornerback, Maryland)

25. Buffalo Bills – Dalton Kincaid (Tight End, Utah)

26. Dallas Cowboys – Mazi Smith (Defensive Tackle, Michigan)

27. Jacksonville Jaguars – Anton Harrison (Offensive Tackle, Oklahoma)

28. Cincinnati Bengals – Myles Murphy (Defensive End, Clemson)

29. New Orleans Saints – Bryan Bresee (Defensive Tackle, Clemson)

30. Philadelphia Eagles – Nolan Smith (Defensive End, Georgia)

31. Kansas City Chiefs – Felix Anudike-Uzomah (Defensive End, Kansas St.)

* The Miami Dolphins lost their first-round pick due to illegal negotiations.