NFL Draft Reportedly Expected to Be Held in 'Studio Setting' Amid Coronavirus Pandemic
By Michael Luciano
With the Raiders completing their move from Oakland to Las Vegas, the NFL planned to welcome Sin City into the league by making them the site of the 2020 NFL Draft.
Their grand plans for a Vegas-sized spectacle have been drastically altered thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. The coronavirus may force the NFL to stage the draft in a studio setting rather than at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas.
Say goodbye to prospects entering the stage via boat.
Rather than invite a smattering of prospects to the "green room" and bringing them on stage after their name is called, the most likely option is that small camera crews will be sent to each major star's house in order to minimize interpersonal contact.
This sounds lame to some, but it's 150% the correct decision given the public health crisis.
As painful as it was for the NFL to alter one of their biggest annual events in such a dramatic fashion, preventing the spread of this virus and "flattening the curve" obviously needs to take precedent over the NFL's pomp and circumstance. At least the NFL is still proceeding with the draft as it was previously scheduled, which wasn't a given just a few days ago.