“The fan look-ins from around the various fan bases were intriguing, and could be something that might be improved, refined, and retained for future years.”Īnd Supovitz’s own predecessor, Jim Steeg, said, “ I liked the players being home…I would cut the players coming to 10 and” have the rest “remote at home.” “ I liked the look-ins at the coach/general manager’s homes, but I think the league will go back to war rooms in the various team HQs and the prospects will go back to larger family gatherings,” Frank Supovitz emailed. What do O’Reilly’s predecessors think the NFL should save for future years? So you have one of the greatest defensive players of all time congratulating their new pick and saying, ‘You know I’m there to mentor you and support you.’ Same thing with (wide receiver) Justin Jefferson’s pick by the Vikings and then Kirk Cousins popped on FaceTime with the commissioner and Justin was talking (to his) new quarterback.” Epenesa was drafted by the Bills, D-lineman, and he was on FaceTime with the commissioner, and Bruce Smith popped on FaceTime to congratulate him. “When a prospect was picked, we would bring in on a number of occasions, a current player or a legend to kind of surprise the player on FaceTime, and there’s some great moments there, just really genuine moments. “As you saw, he was FaceTiming with the prospects after they got picked, so on night two, we added an element to that that we hadn’t done before. “There’s some things that not everybody saw in there,” O’Reilly said. Many of these interactions were not publicized. What could migrate from the virtual draft to a physical one? While O’Reilly is not ready to commit, he liked Goodell talking to draftees and then having a legend, or an active player of the team that drafted the collegian, surprisingly join the call. Even Goodell’s TikTok dance with Denver Broncos first-round pick Jerry Jeudy won positive reviews. Goodell hosted from his basement the first two nights of the event, which shattered viewership records on ESPN, NFL Network and ABC, and amazingly despite more than 200 remote connections, went off without any major hitches. so the two could be in constant communications. He had a live video call monitor going at all times between him and the basement of commissioner Roger Goodell’s home in nearby Bronxville, N.Y. “There’s something great about the experience of people being together physically and the moments and the interactions,” said O’Reilly, who monitored the draft from his wife’s home office in Westchester County, N.Y. While sponsors, like Bose, might have enjoyed some product placement attention in quick remote shots of draftees’ living rooms, they’d rather sell to the throngs that would have attended in Las Vegas if not for the new coronavirus. Kansas City won the 2023 draft.Ī big part of what attracts cities and sponsor to the draft is the shot of hundreds of thousands crowding a municipal square, and the top prospects walking from the green room into the bear hug of the commissioner. Cleveland is hosting next year, and Las Vegas, which lost this year’s, has the 2022 iteration. Cities now bid on the event, which pre-pandemic would attract more than 500,000 in the three days, delivering a big boost to the host community’s economy. Before this year, the draft had emerged as the league’s second-biggest event behind the Super Bowl, and the NFL is not going to give that up.Ī sleepy event for decades in New York City, the draft moved in 20 to Chicago, where it became a fan celebration and a marketing opportunity as much as a player selection exercise. That’s not to say elements of the virtual draft won’t live on in a traditional one in future years, though those who hoped the league might recapture all the 2020 magic won’t get their wish. “The draft room is probably the preference, and maybe it’s not the place you’re going to have family or prospects.” “ I’m sure draft rooms, war rooms, will be the preference,” said Peter O’Reilly, the executive vice president of events for the NFL.
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