The 2020 NFL draft, postpone or no?

[dieterbrock]

2020 NFL Draft will go on as scheduled April 23-25

www.nfl.com

Published: March 26, 2020 at 07:58 p.m
In today's world, 5 days is like a lifetime. It's scheduled, but I wont be surprised if it gets postponed.

 

[IowaRam]

it'll probably be held with minimal people and alot of squawky , out of sync phone interview

 

[bluecoconuts]

I don't see why it can't be held remotely. Not like we have a high draft pick anyway, shit it's all done remotely, lets just fly through the first few rounds day one, and then make day two the rest of the draft.

 

[Merlin]

I hope the NFL at least pipes the boos in.

That would be fuckin awesome lol. They should do that, would show Goodell has a sense of humor.

 

[Flint]

I heard someone speculate that there won’t be as much craziness, that owners and gm’s will have to rely on the tape and the opinions of their scouts instead of falling in Love with a guy’s 40 time. Of course you could say the Rams have benefited, Kupp comes to mind as someone who fell cuz of a slow time.

 

[Merlin]

I heard someone speculate that there won’t be as much craziness, that owners and gm’s will have to rely on the tape and the opinions of their scouts instead of falling in Love with a guy’s 40 time. Of course you could say the Rams have benefited, Kupp comes to mind as someone who fell cuz of a slow time.

GMs have almost unlimited electronic facetime so the tradeoff is they give up the first-hand interviews they'd be doing but in return can go back and ask the player other things if necessary.

I kind of feel for the prospects here. If you're a prospect most teams are interested in having to endure multiple facetimes from every team seems like it would be way more of a burden than just a physical interview lol.

 

[nighttrain]

HAVE THE DRAFT

 

[Memento]

I'm torn. On one hand, the draft is something I live for, and have lived for since 2003. On the other, we're facing some scary times ahead, and there's little harm in pushing it back.

I can't choose. I really can't, and fate bless the ones who can.

 

[nighttrain]

why not have it by phone? Keeps everyone safe

 

[ljramsfan]

I am for it not to be delayed. They probably do something with Zoom cams

 

[CGI_Ram]

If they can keep it safe, why not? The data has been collected. If you delay it, what does that accomplish?.

Again, if they can do it safely.

Seems like great TV under this situation too.

They can keep on a normal season schedule, maybe they buy time for a breakthrough and can stay on schedule!

Why not try, at this point? Act as if you ARE on schedule... hope for the best.

 

[yrba1]

Just have the teams and the NFL execs work remotely if they're really that worried; it'll work considering that some of the players get called in via phone. I don't mind moving forward with the draft with little to no hype noise. I just want to see who the Rams draft and move on; don't mind doing a bit of independent analysis and seeing jrry32's thoughts afterwards

 

[CGI_Ram]

Grabbed this from Peter King’s FMIA:

FMIA: NFL Draft Combined Telecast; Inside Colts New Reality - Peter King, NBC Sports

Peter King's Football Morning in America column reports 2020 NFL Draft could be combined ESPN/NFL Network telecast. Plus, Colts employees share new working reality.

profootballtalk.nbcsports.com

FMIA: Amidst Stunning 2020 Draft Possibilities

The draft continues to be a moving target in plans by the NFL, but with the first round 17 days away, a very different 2020 NFL Draft is taking shape. What I know this morning:

• Momentum is building for ESPN and NFL Network to do a combined draft telecast. Over the weekend I spoke with four people with knowledge of the ongoing discussions between the league, ESPN and NFL Network about draft weekend plans on April 23-25. It’s looking more likely that instead of the two football rivals doing info-warring separate telecasts, they’ll combine to do one telecast, likely out of the ESPN studio in Bristol, Conn., with NFL Network talent either co-hosting or being major contributors to the coverage. As it was explained to me, it’s looking more and more likely that West and East coast studios owned and operated by the NFL, in Culver City, Calif., and Mount Laurel, N.J., will remain closed by state decrees, while the ESPN facility is allowed to remain open on a limited basis. And the socially responsible thing, as one person told me, is to have one unified broadcast.

How will it look? TBD, though I’d expect NFL Network’s traditional host Rich Eisen and personnel expert Daniel Jeremiah, at the very least, to be have prime roles in the show. One good thing is while NFL Network and ESPN have a healthy rivalry, it’s not a bitter Red Sox-Yankees type; the executives and many of the anchors at each shop have mostly good relationships. This isn’t final, but it seems to be the way the league and networks are leaning right now.

This likely would not affect the scheduled ABC draft show. There are plans for that show to go on as scheduled, with the larger network doing less of a hard-core football telecast with different anchors and talent.

• There will be a Covid-19 Telethon element to the draft. The league is closing in on plans to weave a fundraising element into all three days of the telecast, complete with celebrity players and former players and coaches urging viewers to donate to coronavirus-related causes. Raising some number of millions for health-care providers or PPE gear or local causes or those out of work because of the pandemic could—could, I stress—make the weekend a positive event in a sea of terrible news around America.

• If you gave TV people a choice, they’d prefer Roger Goodell on draft weekend to do what all Americans are doing these days: stay home. I wrote last weekend that having Goodell announce the picks from his home in Westchester County, N.Y., was a “worst-case scenario,” but it’s clearly the preference of several people in the draft-weekend discussion. Though ESPN is just a 100-minute drive from Goodell’s home, optically it makes no sense with the national stay-home recommendation for Goodell to be on the spartan set of a TV show. I don’t know what Goodell will do, but being on a home camera is the smartest option for him on the Thursday night first-round show.

More on draft logistics and current NFL events later in the column, but it’s most likely coaches and executives will have to draft from their homes. Amazing that so much is up in the air with the draft 17 nights away. As one person involved with the planning for the draft this year told me: “This is obviously going to be a historic draft. It’ll never be forgotten, but hopefully it’ll never be repeated.”

 

[CGI_Ram]

Interesting bit, not sure where to put it... speculates how a 2020 season, if forced without fans in stadiums... could they saturate TV?

———

PFT Sunday mailbag

Last Sunday, we trotted out on an experimental basis a Sunday mailbag.

profootballtalk.nbcsports.com

I believe that the NFL will do everything in its power to have football this year, even if it happens in empty stadiums or with a much smaller crowd than usual. I also believe that high school and college football will not happen, which will give the NFL a way to make back some of its lost ticket revenue by televising games on Friday nights and throughout the day on Saturday, every week, if the NFL chooses to do that.

Consider this one for a moment. Instead of having five broadcast windows per week, the NFL could end up with nine: Thursday night, Friday night, three on Saturday, three on Sunday, and Monday night.

That could nearly double the TV revenue for 2020, and the ratings would skyrocket, since there would be no other football to watch. And that makes the stakes even higher for the NFL to find a way to play its games, in empty stadiums or in practice facilities or on the island where Fyre Fest was supposed to happen.

Sure, the league will at some point claim that it’s playing its games in the fulfillment of some sort of national duty. And that’s true. The deeper reality, however, is that many billions of dollars will be on the line.

 

[kurtfaulk]

Interesting bit, not sure where to put it... speculates how a 2020 season, if forced without fans in stadiums... could they saturate TV?

———

PFT Sunday mailbag

Last Sunday, we trotted out on an experimental basis a Sunday mailbag.

profootballtalk.nbcsports.com

I believe that the NFL will do everything in its power to have football this year, even if it happens in empty stadiums or with a much smaller crowd than usual. I also believe that high school and college football will not happen, which will give the NFL a way to make back some of its lost ticket revenue by televising games on Friday nights and throughout the day on Saturday, every week, if the NFL chooses to do that.

Consider this one for a moment. Instead of having five broadcast windows per week, the NFL could end up with nine: Thursday night, Friday night, three on Saturday, three on Sunday, and Monday night.

That could nearly double the TV revenue for 2020, and the ratings would skyrocket, since there would be no other football to watch. And that makes the stakes even higher for the NFL to find a way to play its games, in empty stadiums or in practice facilities or on the island where Fyre Fest was supposed to happen.

Sure, the league will at some point claim that it’s playing its games in the fulfillment of some sort of national duty. And that’s true. The deeper reality, however, is that many billions of dollars will be on the line.

i think i would cream my pants if that happened.....week 1.

then after that i'd probably only watch rams games.

.

 

[CGI_Ram]

If we get an NFL season, but no college season... what does the 2021 draft look like?

Seems like a good time to have a nucleus of players. The draft is already a crap shoot. How do you select players with no 2020 college ball?

 

[CGI_Ram]

All 32 teams will participate in a mock draft to test the technology

This year's draft will be conducted remotely, and some teams have expressed concerns that technical difficulties could result in an inability to submit picks, contact other teams about trades, or otherwise conduct business as usual.

profootballtalk.nbcsports.com

All 32 teams will participate in a mock draft to test the technology

This year’s draft will be conducted remotely, and some teams have expressed concerns that technical difficulties could result in an inability to submit picks, contact other teams about trades, or otherwise conduct business as usual. So a practice session has been planned.

All 32 teams will participate in a mock draft, with general managers and league officials all set up at their home offices to oversee the technology and make sure it functions properly, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.

NFL general managers aren’t necessarily the most technologically adept people, so it isn’t surprising that they’re going to need some practice to feel confident they can do it right on draft day.

The draft starts two weeks from tomorrow, so the league has two weeks to make sure everything is up to speed.

 

[CGI_Ram]

No timeouts or other protections for teams in virtual draft

Some teams would like some flexibility in the first-ever virtual draft in order to account for technical glitches.

profootballtalk.nbcsports.com

No timeouts or other protections for teams in virtual draft

Some teams would like some flexibility in the first-ever virtual draft in order to account for technical glitches. The league’s response, to use a technical term, is basically this: Tough sh-t.

Mike Garafolo of NFL Media explained on Tuesday that there will be no allowances for technical difficulties. There are plenty of ways to communicate during the draft, Garafolo explained, including an open conference call with all 32 teams and the league.

“It was determined that there should be no technological issues standing in the way of getting a pick in,” Garafolo said.

So the draft will proceed with all 32 teams subject to the same rules and deadlines, with the possibility of some sort of actual or alleged glitch simply being another dose of reality for the ultimate reality show about nothing.

 

[CGI_Ram]

TV presentation of draft takes shape

As Peter King reported on Monday, the 2020 draft is expected to consist of a joint ESPN/NFL Network production televised by both networks.

profootballtalk.nbcsports.com

TV presentation of draft takes shape

As Peter King reported on Monday, the 2020 draft is expected to consist of a joint ESPN/NFL Network production televised by both networks. Andrew Marchand of the New York Post has added more details regarding an unprecedented broadcast that, given the present circumstances, could have unprecedented rantings.

Via Marchand, the draft will commence with the Commissioner announcing the first pick, either from his home, his office, or some other isolated location. (The better play will be for the Commissioner to announce the first pick from his home.) Then, ESPN’s Trey Wingo will, from the network’s Bristol studios (i.e., don’t expect any videos of any bears on Wingo’s porch), will set up the top draft analysts (Mel Kiper, Booger McFarland, Louis Riddick), each of whom will be in their homes.

They’ll give their takes on the first pick (presumably, LSU quarterback Joe Burrow), while the first pick films his reaction on a camera provided by the league. Next could be ESPN’s Suzy Kolber interviewing the pick via video link.

Whether team executives have cameras in their homes for the broadcast remains unresolved; some teams (like Cowboys owner/G.M. Jerry Jones) may be willing to do it, and others (like Patriots coach Bill Belichick) may take a “shove it up your bunghole” position if/when approached.

With NFL Network’s L.A. and New Jersey control rooms still shut down, ESPN will lead the way. Marchand explains that the broadcast will incorporate Rich Eisen, Kurt Warner, and Daniel Jeremiah from NFL Network. Other NFL Network personnel could be added; for now, Eisen, Warner, and Jeremiah are the only ones who are definitely in.

ABC will, as it did last year, have its own broadcast that is geared more toward mainstream, casual fans. Rece Davis will host from ESPN’s Bristol studio, with Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, and David Pollack contributing from their homes.

The ESPN/ABC productions also could have a musical component, with musical acts contributing from the homes of the performers.

Marchand notes that the TV plans for the draft are subject to change. Which seems to be the applicable message to anything and everything currently happening in this new world reality: It all is and all will be subject to change.