JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The NFL Draft is less than a week away and teams are preparing for a draft that will be unlike any other.
This will be quite a different version of the draft than we’ve grown accustomed to everything will be conducted virtually. NFL Commissioner Rodger Godell will announce picks from his home while teams will also be separated meeting via virtual conferences. The draft experience will be different but in time when there are no sports hopefully, this will give many sports fans something to look forward to.
“Our goal is going to be to in an appropriate way knowing our role in this society and culture to unify people to bring people together in what has been a trying couple of months. So we are excited about that opportunity to do good and to provide people that sense of normalcy and we are going to do that in some really fun ways," said Matthew Shapiro, NFL VP of Events Strategy.
While doing the draft completely virtual will have its setbacks, there may also be one positive. In years past only a handful of players got a draft day experience but this year the NFL will be able to bring in more players than ever before.
Instead of players being able to walk across the stage the NFL has sent kits home to 58 prospects that include camera lights and microphones so they will be able to capture and talk with the athletes during the draft.
“While we are not able to replicate the exact experience of walking across the stage in Las Vegas to be able to send out the 58 kits to make all of the young men be a part of the event gives us a little bit more time to talk to them,” Shapiro explained.
The draft, which begins on April 23, will be a big one for the Jacksonville Jaguars they have 12 selections in the draft plus some big looming trade questions. Defensive lineman Yannick Ngakoue could be traded during the draft and news came out Saturday that the team is open to moving on from running back Leonard Fournette.