It's purely a matter of timing that the NFL has so far dodged the bullet with the current public health crisis. Unlike the other three major leagues, the NFL is in the midst of its offseason and, assuming this is reasonably under control early enough, may avoid missing games because of it.
They've made some adjustments to their offseason programs, but, for the most part, it's been business as usual for NFL teams. That hasn't stopped critics from accusing the league of "putting its head in the sand," which is not the case at all. They simply aren't in the same situation as the NBA, NHL or MLB. They have the luxury of time, so they have no reason not to prepare for this season as if it'll start on time (while also coming up with a contingency plan if it doesn't, which they have).
That criticism seemed to boil over this weekend, when the NFL Draft was held. That's what led to the "head in the sand" argument. The common belief among that faction seemed to be that there will be no NFL season this fall, so the draft was an "unnecessary" waste of time. With all due respect to that group, they're dead wrong.
The draft is an integral function for each team, and it has to be completed at some point before the season starts! Even if you think the season might be delayed, you don't know that for sure. And if you do postpone the draft, when do you reschedule it? With the amount of planning and coordination required, it's not something you can rush. Not to mention the fact that teams need to know their rosters and rookies need to know what team they're on before anything can start. So you can't just arbitrarily say it'll take place "at some point."
Does the NFL Draft have to be the crazy spectacle that it's turned into? Of course not! Especially with the way things are in the country right now. Which is why they decided not to have the live draft in Las Vegas and held the event virtually instead. And, just like the WNBA last week, the virtual draft served its purpose and then some.
People who've been desperate for any type of live sporting event agreed, too. This was the highest-rated NFL Draft in years. There were probably a few factors for that. There was certainly the curiosity element, and you had those people who watched just because it was sports and it was on. You also had the legions of NFL and college football fans who religiously follow the draft anyway, and, since none of them could actually go to the draft, watching it on TV was their only option.
And there was a certain turn-back-the-clock element to it. The NFL Draft wasn't televised until 1980, when ESPN needed programming and had a crazy idea (there's a great SI article about this). Before then, it was just a bunch of guys on the phone with the commissioner and the public didn't find out the results until after the fact. The virtual draft wasn't much different, with the exception of the picks being announced much quicker.
Just as importantly, there was no reason for the NFL not to hold its draft this weekend as scheduled. You don't need to have everybody in the same room in order to draft. Especially with modern technology. And, again, teams needed players and rookies needed teams, so as long as everyone was willing and capable why wait when you could still do it now, albeit in a different way?
Drafting this way also brought some personality that otherwise wouldn't have been seen. You had Jerry Jones on a yacht, Andy Reid in a hula shirt, and all the other different setups. It gave the fans plenty to talk about beyond just the picks. And that element wouldn't have been possible in a traditional setting, so I'd argue that was actually a benefit of drafting virtually.
As the WNBA and now the NFL have shown us, conducting a virtual draft really isn't that different. Sure, some of the in-person elements that were missing couldn't be replicated in a virtual setting (sorry, but the prerecorded Goodell boos were just stupid), but the virtual drafts served their purpose. Teams drafted rookies, people had something to watch, some fans were happy and some fans were unhappy.
While it's such a simple formula that would've been incredibly hard to screw up, the success of the WNBA's and NFL's virtual drafts is no small thing. Because the NBA and NHL will probably have to do the same thing. The MLB Draft isn't quite on the same scale as the others, so if their draft is held virtually, which seems likely, it won't be too much of a change from what we've seen over the past several years.
Was this the start of a new trend? After the success of the virtual drafts, are we going to see the live, in-person drafts become a thing of the past? Absolutely not! While they were a necessity under the circumstances, I think everyone still prefers the live draft to the virtual draft. And let's not forget the amount of money that goes into it for the NFL! (The NFL Draft is such an in-demand commodity that they bid it out much like the Super Bowl.)
Teams had to change their approach, too, which is another reason why drafts will likely go back to normal next year. They couldn't hold their traditional pre-draft workouts and face-to-face interviews, and they had to get together via online chats instead of in war rooms. Likewise, they have no idea when the players they just drafted will actually be able to physically go their team facilities and take physicals, etc.
But the online draft worked, and that's the bottom line. Whether or not it was "appropriate" at the current time, it was something that needed to be done. And it's something that can be done regardless of if the season starts on time or not. Besides, it was nice to get a break from pandemic coverage and actually have something to look forward to for a change.
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