In a press release distributed on Monday, NFL Network announced that 15 teams had agreed to put cameras in their draft rooms for coverage of this week’s draft. And then NFL Network updated that announcement with word that a 16th team is on board: the Giants.
That comes as a surprise. The Giants haven’t previously allowed cameras in their draft rooms and have generally preferred to keep things close to the vest. Giants head coach Tom Coughlin, in particular, has a reputation as the type who would prefer to conduct his business without cameras present.
It would be interesting to know whether the Giants offered to allow cameras because they’re hoping that playing ball during draft week will keep them from having to allow many more cameras into their training camp for the filming of Hard Knocks. The Giants are one of the teams that could be forced to participate in Hard Knocks if no team volunteers, and they’ve made no secret that they’re hoping the NFL won’t force Hard Knocks on them.
Some day, the NFL may simply tell all 32 teams that they’re required to allow the league-owned network to have access to their draft rooms. This year, half the teams have volunteered.