McVay, Snead discuss virtual draft setup

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ROD-BOT

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McVay, Snead give a peek at virtual draft setup

NFL front office personnel are required to conduct business separately from one another during the upcoming virtual NFL Draft, tasking clubs' IT professionals to replicate a war room-like setup in the homes of coaches, scouts and general managers, among others.

Rams head coach Sean McVay gave local media a preview during a video conference Tuesday morning and found his base of operations akin to a NASA employee's.

"It looks like I can set off a spaceship at this thing," McVay said.

Based on the short peek, McVay's at-home command center includes three different monitors.

Each of them house a specific draft board: offensive prospects on the left, defensive prospects in the middle and an overall draft tracker on the right, with two laptops stationed in front of them. Collectively, the five devices appeared to occupy one desk space.

Rams general manager Les Snead's setup, at least in the glimpse seen on video, initially appeared to be more simplistic. He showed off a little red notebook with pertinent information for the draft later this week, though there were also at least a couple computer screens behind him.

"It's as close to a simulation as what we would have if we were sitting in our draft room at the office," McVay said. "I can't say enough about (Rams Manager, Information Technology) Jeff Graves and Dan Dmytrisin (Director, Video) on what a job they've done of making this as smooth as a process with IT and the video."

McVay, Snead and other Rams personnel had the chance to test out their setups Monday through a practice draft. Snead said it went well from a technical standpoint but won't change their strategy.

However, should they make a trade at any point in this week's draft, the digital communications will likely force them to proceed cautiously. According to NFL Network's Aditi Kinkhabwala, the league asked teams picking 1-16 overall to conduct mock trades as part of Monday's rehearsal, just to ensure they could.

"I think if we do make a trade, as Sean mentioned earlier, that's definitely a possibility, at that point, it'll probably be a little different than just on the phone, just walking through it," Snead said. "Maybe we'll be a little more careful to make sure all parties are onboard and in the know, so we can execute a trade without a glitch."

Going virtual and working remotely has allowed the Rams to minimize distractions and operate on more efficient, detailed schedules, according to McVay. If glitches do arise during the draft, they're confident the league will be well-equipped to handle them.

In other words, it won't be rocket science.

"I think there's enough time in between picks," McVay said. "The NFL has done a great job of communicating and understanding and (giving) some flexibility if some of those things do arise."
 

rams1fan

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Sneads got monitors in front and behind him. Hope he doesn't get up in the middle of the draft and have the Rams draftee list up on the monitor behind him.
 

So Ram

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Do we have to wait until Friday to find out how things work for The Rams ??
By then most of the glitches will have been worked out.
Did The Rams practice on trading up into the 1st Rd ?
 

Loyal

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"Just tell us where the actual draft modules for each HC and GM, so that we can blast their electronics, and have our choice of OT Jedrick Wills or WR Jerry Jeudy at #52 and #57......"
 

pmil66

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pmil
Still wont watch, believe the internet was made for the NFL draft. Its perfect to follow online IMO.
 

JonRam99

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Wow the self-quarantine hitting Snead hard... Les, is this you???

1587590742378.png
 

FarNorth

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McVay, Snead give a peek at virtual draft setup

NFL front office personnel are required to conduct business separately from one another during the upcoming virtual NFL Draft, tasking clubs' IT professionals to replicate a war room-like setup in the homes of coaches, scouts and general managers, among others.

Rams head coach Sean McVay gave local media a preview during a video conference Tuesday morning and found his base of operations akin to a NASA employee's.

"It looks like I can set off a spaceship at this thing," McVay said.

McVay, Snead and other Rams personnel had the chance to test out their setups Monday through a practice draft. Snead said it went well from a technical standpoint but won't change their strategy.

Snead: "When you are picking 52 and 57, there is kind of an element of letting the draft come to you." Exactly. The Rams are situated where they want to be.

Notwithstanding the high tech IT, I am surprised that Snead and McVay will not be in the same room (if at some distance.) As someone who has been on many conference calls, imo this requires disciplined communication and limits off the cuff discussions.

It also seems to me that will not be as easy to execute minor tactical maneuvers (as in the last three trade-downs last year). The problem is not so much the IT itself but that it will likely be much harder to rally all the troops on each team to reach agreement, internally and externally, for each deal. I suspect that the Rams will limit their trades to those of clear importance or benefit, and execute fewer of Snead's past tactical deals.