At the start of the year, it looked like this would just be another regular NFL offseason, but it’s turned out that’s not the case – and the New York Giants and the rest of the NFL will be affected by the same thing that’s altered plans so far for all of the other major sports leagues: 2020’s coronavirus pandemic. While the situation began during the offseason, when there’s no games actively being played, the NFL hasn’t escaped the consequences of it entirely.
The Draft is one of the most attended events of the NFL despite its status as an offseason activity, and that causes obvious problems due to the current virus going around in the United States and elsewhere – judging by the current pace of things, there’s little chance that the situation has calmed down enough by late April to continue with the league’s plans to hold the Draft in Las Vegas, at least in front of a live crowd.
But it looks like it’s still set to happen as scheduled. It just may end up happening differently than in normal years.
The NFL will proceed with its Draft on Apr 23-25 but will canceled public events in Las Vegas. The league is exploring innovative ways for how the process will be conducted.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 16, 2020
Multiple sources have reported that the league is going to continue planning to hold the Draft in April, but unlike usual, it won’t be a public event that draws massive crowds. The league is working on other ways to hold the event – nothing has been confirmed yet, but the options range from having limited team staffs present to conducting the Draft entirely by teleconference.
Of course, fans can still expect to see the Draft televised – but they should expect a very different experience. Instead of the typical live show from the site of the Draft, this year’s may just have to be a studio show with each of the selections happening via teleconference, if the NFL goes for one of the more extreme options… A strange sight, but one that would be worthwhile if it means preventing the further spread of the virus.