The 2020 NFL Draft turned out surprisingly well for everyone

As the 2020 NFL Draft faced such dramatic changes, many suspected a failed broadcast. Instead, the league made the best of a difficult situation.

As a global pandemic has changed the landscape of sports, along with life in general, the NFL got its first taste of alterations last week. The 2020 NFL Draft was forced to be conducted digitally instead of at their hoped-for Vegas waterside palace.

When the news of this dramatic change first came down, many NFL Draft fans and pundits expected the worst. From a terrible TV product that was held together by a few zoom conference calls to general managers not understanding how to log onto the Internet or modern-day forms of mass communications, we did not give these guys enough credit.

Beyond the technical aspect of an overloaded internet router, old guys forgetting their passwords, and/or refusing to adapt to the new way of doing things, there were legitimate NFL Draft concerns. Most prospects did not get to go through their pro days. Private workouts were cancelled and medical records were questionable, given the lack of team physicals. Prospects couldn’t even interview with their potential employers face-to-face.

While we are unsure if the GMs made the right call on Draft day, we are sure that the production value of the NFL Draft was far better than expected.

Of course, the league saw a few hiccups. From Roger Goodell leaning into the joke of being booed a little too hard and coming off as a stiff, to Trey Wingo getting flustered at times, and of course, the botched announcement that Vegas would once again be granted an NFL Draft this time in 2020 (when Goodell meant 2022), overall it was a good draft.

Given how difficult it is to have a debate, or even just a nice exchange, over a conference call with more than two people, it was clear early on we would miss out on our normal x’s and o’s breakdowns of each player. We missed out on some classic draft day fodder.

This led ESPN to lean more into the personal stories of several players, which became one knock on the programming for some viewers. Some players did not even get highlight tapes shown; all they got were a laundry list of tragedies, heartbreak, and sadness on their biggest day.

While some will enjoy sharing their stories with the world, on one of the biggest days in each prospect’s career, the reliving every player’s most tragic angle just seemed poorly placed, especially during a pandemic.

As far as the NFL Draft as a whole is concerned, many front offices and the NFL commissioner saw a ton of benefits in the altered model. Multiple organizations pointed out the enjoyment of extended time with their families.

In addition, the NFL and its many partners came together for Draft-A-Thon as a way to raise money during the draft for coronavirus relief efforts—specifically to six organizations: American Red Cross, Meals on Wheels, United Way, CDC Foundation, Salvation Army, and Feeding America. The NFL announced that over $100 million was raised during the broadcast weekend.

While many expected the league to deal with failure, and some opining that the NFL was rushing the draft, the draft ended up with the highest ratings ever while raising money and support for a good cause and providing a small escape from reality.