The 2020 NFL Draft will be a unique experience for everyone involved with the league making it an entirely virtual experience due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Amid concerns from NFL teams over hacking and technical issues, the league is reportedly planning a creative way to iron things out.
According to NFL Network, the league is planning to conduct a full mock draft with all 32 teams as a test run for the 2020 NFL Draft.
The plan comes at a time when multiple general managers are expressing a myriad of concerns over the virtual draft. Among them, teams fear an altered offseason with fewer chances to conduct in-person evaluations on players will lead to general managers blowing their draft.
There is also the risk of teams experiencing technical difficulties at home, such as their internet going down or connection to the conference call crashing, which court hurt them during the draft.
Conducting a dry run would allow teams to test out the communications system that will be used, get a feel for how a virtual NFL Draft will operate and learn how to adjust to any complications that occur along the way.
Of course, teams would also need to be sure not to use any real information from their draft board during the mock draft. At the very least, the mock draft will at least provide a valuable experience for team personnel before the real draft begins.