Phin Phanatic
FanSided

NFL Draft likely will be conducted from coaches and GM’s homes

By Brian Miller

MOUNT AIRY, MARYLAND - MARCH 18: With the NFL Network on the television, WBAL Sports Anchor/Reporter Pete Gilbert checks his computer following a stand-up report on the 2020 NFL Free Agency and the Baltimore Ravens in the basement of WBAL Chief Sports Photographer Jim Forner's home basement on March 18, 2020 in Mount Airy, Maryland. Like many other sportscasters, Gilbert, the National Sports Media Association 2019 Maryland Sportscaster of the Year, has had to adapt to changing times due to coronavirus. Because there are no live sporting events due to the coronavirus, he is no longer anchoring in-studio, and using make-shift studios like his colleague's home to report sports. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
MOUNT AIRY, MARYLAND - MARCH 18: With the NFL Network on the television, WBAL Sports Anchor/Reporter Pete Gilbert checks his computer following a stand-up report on the 2020 NFL Free Agency and the Baltimore Ravens in the basement of WBAL Chief Sports Photographer Jim Forner's home basement on March 18, 2020 in Mount Airy, Maryland. Like many other sportscasters, Gilbert, the National Sports Media Association 2019 Maryland Sportscaster of the Year, has had to adapt to changing times due to coronavirus. Because there are no live sporting events due to the coronavirus, he is no longer anchoring in-studio, and using make-shift studios like his colleague's home to report sports. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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The NFL hasn’t been explicit yet on where teams can host the NFL Draft but there is a growing sentiment that teams will do so remotely.

Imagine sitting in your living room, basement, closet, attic, or even your garage and you are the head coach of an NFL team, or the general manager making all of your NFL Draft decisions and you are relying on Spectrum or some other internet provider to not go down. That may be the case this year.

We can start throwing out the jokes but reality says they may not be jokes. I get pissed when my one-year-old yanks the modem chord and my internet goes down in the middle of writing an article. Imagine what an NFL HC/GM is going to do if the same happened to him while he was on the clock?

The NFL needs to have a system in place now and they need to be holding mock draft trials to see if all is going to work without hiccups. More than likely team officials will not be gathering inside a draft “war room” to conduct their draft. Even if they do, it will be a skeletal crew of only the top guys with scouts on speed dial.

Executives are not the only ones who will be affected by this health crisis. Here are some fun questions with the intent to poke fun at the possibilities of what draft day could look like this year.

Will the NFL send 32 hats to the top 50 draft prospects so they can don the hat when they get on a video call with ESPN or another network hosting a “live” draft?

Will the NFL send “green screens” to those top prospects so they can set the player up in front of the Las Vegas skyline or a draft stage?

Who will be the first player that videos themselves in a bedroom as if they are waiting in the green room at the draft?

Which NFL prospect will be the first to get drafted and show up on a video conference in his pajamas? Or for that matter a tricked out suit?

Which NFL team has their internet go down or get hacked and drafts a punter by mistake in round two?

Will Roger Goodell stand at a microphone in his office reading off names from index cards since no “draft cards” will actually be submitted?

Now some real questions.

Will the NFL extend the clock by a few minutes in case there are hiccups with digital transmissions?

How exactly will the league work with the multiple networks on a virtual telecast? That is a question that many fans are wondering.

Ratings? With no sports of any kind right now, the NFL has a huge monopoly on the sports world. In non-virus years the NFL Draft is one of the biggest events in sports history but there are always other sporting events going on. This year, there are none. The NFL has a block of a month where sports enthusiasts have nothing and are starving. This year could be a huge rating event for the NFL, one that rivals the Super Bowl.

With 18 days to go, those questions won’t be lingering long before they are answered.

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