PHILADELPHIA, PA - APRIL 27: (L-R) Mitchell Trubisky of North Carolina poses with Commissioner of the National Football League Roger Goodell after being picked #2 overall by the Chicago Bears (from 49ers) during the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft at the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The NFL remains committed to holding the 2020 draft on April 23-25 as originally scheduled contradicting the general manager subcommittee’s proposal sent to commissioner Roger Goodell on Tuesday recommending the postponement of the draft amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The concerns raised by general managers correlate with the league’s closure of numerous team facilities and the cancellation of offseason activities which makes it’s difficult to give physicals, obtain verified information about players and test players psychologically, league sources told ESPN. Some teams may even be required to coordinate their draft activities from home if their team is located in a state with a higher number of cases reported.
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The league still has the power to reschedule the draft but sources say owners and the league office are in agreement on holding the draft as scheduled.
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New Orleans Saints’ general manager and member of the general manager subcommittee Mickey Loomis appeared on Wednesday’s episode of The Peter King Podcast and emphasized the importance of postponing the draft.
“I’d be personally in favor of delaying the draft, so that we can get some of the work done that our scouts and our personnel people ordinarily do,” Loomis said. “And then just the logistics of trying to conduct the draft, with not having access to your draft rooms and your offices, creates a lot of logistic problems. This is not a fantasy draft that you conduct out there with just a list of things on a piece of paper. There’s a lot of work that goes into it to prepare, and there’s a lot of work that is done during the draft. Listen, it’ll be very, very difficult to conduct that and do it in a way that you’re doing justice to the process.”
A league source echoed Loomis’ sentiment telling ESPN, “I think a lot of owners aren’t sold on keeping it on schedule. Of course the power owners are calling the shots. Plus, add to the fact that April is going to be the toughest month with this virus. It’s really a poor look.”
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