The NFL conducted a mock draft on Monday, but not in the way the rest of us would using simulators in cyberspace. This was more of a dress rehearsal, an exercise to get used to a unique virtual draft with executives, coaches and scouts working remotely while trying to execute a cohesive draft plan.
This is all happening due to the coronavirus pandemic that has the country largely sheltering in place where possible to help contain the outbreak.
Technology will make this NFL draft possible, with teams connected with via conferencing in strategic groups, multiple phone lines and text chains to stay on the same page while on the clock.
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That’s a challenge the Raiders are embracing, one they believe they’ll be ready for in this strange new world.
It will take some teaching. General manager Mike Mayock’s admittedly low tech, traditionally carrying a massive binder around with him he wouldn’t even allow some family members to hold over a flash drive in his pocket.
Jon Gruden crashed an online technology class run by the University of Tennessee and needed his wife to get his video running, armed with self-deprecating humor over his confusion da-ta versus day-ta, in order to glean some insight.
Those fish-out-of-water anecdotes belly the point that the Raiders will be ready to go come draft day.
NFL
Mayock spoke with the media last week, before the team's IT department tricked out his living room with several screens and secure communication channels. At that point, his concern with this draft was being agile when teams are trying to conduct trades and execute selections on the clock.
“I’m 100 years old, so I’ve got to sit here and figure out how to screen share and have four different people on one screen and make sure I understand if there are multiple trades going on at the same time how we are handling it, how we are communicating,” Mayock said. “Are we texting? Can I see anything visually? So, really the challenge for me because I’m not very good at that kind of stuff.
“It’s a lot easier when somebody is sitting across from me and passing me a note saying, ‘Hey, Atlanta wants to talk to you,’ while I’m on the phone with Detroit. So, I’m kind of old school in the sense that I think if you practice enough at anything, you can get good at it. So, I’m anxious to get the communications stuff into my house. I’m anxious to get everybody around the country that I need to communicate with together and I got to start practicing because I’ll be the first to tell you I’m clueless when it comes to sharing a screen.”
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That’s why the NFL ran Monday’s simulation, using names of past prospects and designated trade partners to execute deals. ESPN’s Dianna Russini reported issues of home Wi-Fi bandwidth issues with multiple devices running in a family home of one NFL GM. Bears GM Ryan Pace admitted his lost internet when his wife ran over some wires with a vacuum.
The NFL has reserved the right to stop the clock, if necessary, to execute a trade during the draft. That’s according to former NFL GM Mike Tannenbaum, and shows the league is expecting some technical and procedural issues during this unique draft.
Rule flexibility is a positive for the Raiders and all NFL teams trying to navigate this situation. The NFL draft takes a full year to prepare for, and technical issues shouldn’t be the cause of mistakes while selecting new players.
The NFL ran a mock draft and you can be sure the Raiders will run several internal simulations to make sure everyone’s working efficiently and knows what to do in every scenario.
[RELATED: 2020 NFL mock draft: Raiders’ projected picks in all seven rounds]
Mayock admits there could be mistakes made later in the draft while without the verified measurables and medical information unavailable due to the ongoing public health crisis, but teams are working out technical kinks to avoid issues within their control.
That will be another wrinkle to a unique draft that should be entertaining when it begins on Thursday night.