The NFL told teams last week that they were deciding between allowing small gatherings of club personnel to work together during the draft or requiring everyone to work from their homes by themselves.
The league announced its ruling on Monday. In a memo delivered to all teams and obtained by PFT, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell wrote that teams should prepare for a “fully virtual.” Club personnel will be located “in separate locations and able to communicate with one another and Draft headquarters by phone or internet.”
Goodell’s decision is based on a desire to have all teams operating in a “consistent and fair way” at a moment when some areas have more stringent orders restricting gatherings and/or movement than others. Goodell wrote that the league also wants everyone “to comply with government directives and to model safe and appropriate health practice” amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Teams have been preparing for this decision, so it likely won’t change much about their preparations for a draft that’s going to look completely different from what we’ve grown accustomed to over the years.