The National Football League announced the names of 53 players who have been granted special eligibility for the 2010 NFL Draft on April 22-24.
The NFL Draft will start in primetime for the first time in 2010. The first round will be held on Thursday, April 22 at 7:30 PM ET. The second and third rounds are set for Friday, April 23 at 6:30 PM ET. Rounds 4-7 will be held on Saturday, April 24 at 10:00 AM ET. The entire NFL Draft will be televised by NFL Network and ESPN.
Each of the 53 players has met the league's three-year eligibility rule and each has submitted a written application in which he renounced his remaining college football eligibility. The deadline for receiving applications was January 15.
The 53 players this year match the total number that was granted special eligibility in 2008. Last year, special eligibility was granted to 46 players.
The players granted special eligibility for the NFL Draft the past 10 years:
| **Year** | **Players Granted Special Eligibility** | **** | **Year** | **Players Granted Special Eligibility** |
| 2010 | 53 | | 2005 | 51 |
| 2009 | 46 | | 2004 | 43 |
| 2008 | 53 | | 2003 | 47 |
| 2007 | 40 | | 2002 | 38 |
| 2006 | 52 | | 2001 | 35 |
The players declared eligible are:
| Player | Pos. | College |
| Basped, Kevin | DE | Nevada |
| Benn, Arrelious | WR | Illinois |
| Berry, Eric | DB | Tennessee |
| Best, Jahvid | RB | California |
| Bowman, Navorro | LB | Penn State |
| Bradford, Sam | QB | Oklahoma |
| Briscoe, Dezmon | WR | Kansas |
| Brown, Antonio | WR | Central Michigan |
| Bryant, Dez | WR | Oklahoma State |
| Bulaga, Bryan | T | Iowa |
| Burnett, Morgan | DB | Georgia Tech |
| Campbell, Bruce | T | Maryland |
| Clausen, Jimmy | QB | Notre Dame |
| Curran, Rennie | LB | Georgia |
| Davis, Anthony | T | Rutgers |
| Dunlap, Carlos | DE | Florida |
| Dwyer, Jonathan | RB | Georgia Tech |
| Franks, Dominique | DB | Oklahoma |
| Geathers, Clifton | DE | South Carolina |
| Gibson, Thaddeus | DE | Ohio State |
| Gresham, Jermaine | TE | Oklahoma |
| Griffen, Everson | DE | Southern California |
| Gronkowski, Rob | TE | Arizona |
| Haden, Joe | DB | Florida |
| Hernandez, Aaron | TE | Florida |
| Jackson, Kareem | DB | Alabama |
| Jones, Chad | DB | Louisiana State |
| Jones, Reshad | DB | Georgia |
| Joseph, Linval | DT | East Carolina |
| Marshall, Darius | RB | Marshall |
| Mathews, Ryan | RB | Fresno State |
| McClain, Rolando | LB | Alabama |
| McCoy, Gerald | DT | Oklahoma |
| McKnight, Joe | RB | Southern California |
| McNeal, Shawnbrey | RB | Southern Methodist |
| Mitchell, Carlton | WR | South Florida |
| Moore, Joshua | DB | Kansas State |
| Morgan, Derrick | DE | Georgia Tech |
| Norton, Jerell | DB | Arkansas |
