Seahawks GM Rips Up Walls to Install 25 Screens for Virtual NFL Draft

In Wednesday’s Hot Clicks: John Schneider’s extreme home makeover, Gronk’s pre-trade interview and more.

25 screens?!

This week’s NFL draft promises to be a fascinating one. Even if there are no major surprises with the picks and trades, we can count on being entertained by at least one team’s struggles with technology. With the draft taking place virtually for the first time, it’s a good bet that something will go wrong. Or maybe it will get hacked. 

Teams are trying their best to avoid any technological hiccups, sending IT specialists out to the homes of coaches and general managers to make sure everything is hooked up properly. Lions GM Bob Quinn is going to have an IT employee stationed outside his house in a Winnebago for the entire draft.

Some GMs have done a good job quickly converting their home offices into draft war rooms, like the Niners’ John Lynch and Tom Telesco of the Chargers. 

My at-home war room is almost like I’m at the @SAPSports Performance Facility. Thanks to our IT and video teams + our scouts and coaches we’re ready for the #NFLDraft this week. #IGYB pic.twitter.com/ytuZKY9Bk4

— John Lynch (@JohnLynch49ers) April 20, 2020

They have clean, organized spaces with plenty of screens and communication devices. 

And then there’s Seahawks GM John Schneider. Schneider told reporters Tuesday that he had to do some fast and dirty home remodeling to turn his dining room into a war room.

“I’m a very visual person, so everything's there in case things fall apart from a technology standpoint,” Schneider said. “I think there’s like, I don’t know, it feels like 25 screens. But I like the one-on-one interaction. I like being able to have private conversations with Pete [Carroll] throughout the draft process.”

Carroll has his own elaborate setup, with backup phones for his backup phones. His only concern is blowing a fuse and shutting the whole thing down. 

“The process is it calls for a lot of setup. Johnny has got his stuff going—he’s got a couple things beyond what that I need,” Carroll said. “I’ve got boards that wrap around the room. I've got seven screens going, which is not uncomfortable for me. I kind of like all the activity. We’ve got our land lines. We have got our cell phones, our backup cell phones, all kinds of stuff… It’s kind of cool. It’s all high-tech. We have our own little room here to do our press conference thing that’s set off to the side, as well. We just both hope that we don’t get overloads on the circuits and everything shuts down, you know, because we’ve got a lot more things plugged in than we normally do around here.”

And you thought organizing a conference call for your job was complicated. 

The best of SI

The cover of this month’s magazine is Greg Bishop speaking with DeAndre Hopkins right after his trade to Arizona. ... The Gronk trade shows that Tom Brady is finally in charge of his own team. ... Some college athletes are at risk of going hungry during the pandemic.

Around the sports world

All Nick Foles wants in his return to Philly is for Eagles fans not to boo him. ... An Italian soccer team turned a six-year-old’s design into their jersey. ... A marathoner tried to spell out “Boston Strong” with her route but accidentally spelled “BOSTON STROG.”

This interview is amazing to watch when you realize it was like 18 hours before he ended up getting traded

Lamar Jackson is going to be on the cover of Madden but no one was supposed to know

"It's a dream come true." @Lj_era8 on Madden cover: pic.twitter.com/FtNibi7xt4

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) April 21, 2020

When the @Ravens leak your Cover Athlete...😑 pic.twitter.com/qO5I90YxNE

— Madden NFL 25 (@EAMaddenNFL) April 21, 2020

Giants lineman Kevin Zeitler is eating an unconscionable amount of food

New Chargers uniforms

the best got better. pic.twitter.com/UTXPM8yYvI

— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) April 21, 2020

I’m not buying it

Presumptive 1st overall pick Joe Burrow was a big basketball star in high school. I asked him how many points he could score in an NBA Game.

He said 12 to 15.

In an NBA GAME! pic.twitter.com/6VsEOjj77Q

— Taylor Rooks (@TaylorRooks) April 21, 2020

A battle of 6–6 teams, brought to by death lasers

YO, THE INDEPENDENCE BOWL IS NOW SPONSORED BY A LASER WEAPONS DEFENSE CONTRACTOR pic.twitter.com/Dqj6LgAj6M

— PodKATT (@valleyshook) April 21, 2020

Not sports

In search of a disappearing art dealer. ... A flock of sheep took over a closed McDonald’s in Wales. ... New York’s famed Upright Citizens Brigade comedy theater has been forced to close permanently.

Creating a commercial for a random Craigslist ad

A good song

Email dan.gartland@si.com with any feedback or follow me on Twitter for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. Bookmark this page to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.