NFL Draft: An Inside Look at How Prospects are Dealing with COVID-19

Due to COVID-19, NFL prospects and scouts are having to resort to various forms of technology for pre-draft workouts and visits with teams leading up to the Draft.

COVID-19 is impacting the entire country in unprecedented ways. That includes the NFL, team scouts, personnel, and prospective draft picks. Sources have confirmed to the Bulldog Maven that many of these prospects, including some former Georgia Bulldogs, are getting creative with their pre-draft workouts. Sources have asked for specific players to be left unnamed, but mostly this approach is being taken by players that are projected to be 2nd and 3rd-day prospects.

These workouts are being conducted at high school fields with a very small number of athletes to adhere to social distancing guidelines and regulations. The workouts are videoed and sent off to the NFL scouts and team personnel.

Admittedly, this is not the ideal scenario for prospects that are fighting for draft position or that are borderline as to whether or not they’ll be drafted at all. Fortunately, virtual meeting technology such as Skype, Microsoft Teams, Zoom and other services allow for a pretty easy alternative for prospect and team interviews and, or meetings.

One would expect that this upcoming draft would be one of the more conservative in recent memory. With the COVID-19 restrictions, there is less opportunity for NFL higher-ups to conduct private workouts and meet face to face with players, so the brass is more likely to go with their scouting department’s recommendations. You're not likely to see as many teams reaching on players in this draft.

The NFL Draft is still scheduled to take place on April 23-25. The specifics are yet to be determined. The live crowd that was expected to be in attendance in Las Vegas this year has been canceled as the government and health care professionals are doing everything they can to bend the curve on the Coronavirus pandemic.

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