NFL teams are starting to announce their plans for virtual draft activations after Commissioner Roger Goodell yesterday said teams would not be permitted to gather in their facilities or anywhere else to conduct the draft on April 23-25. The Dolphins’ Facebook group today started sending out invites to fans for a “second screen” experience with Bud Light Seltzer as presenting sponsor. Like all teams, the Dolphins will be aggressive on many social platforms, but the official Facebook group has 30,000 fans already, said Dolphins VP/Marketing Laura Sandall. She said the hope is that fans will watch the draft while also having Facebook open. Inside the group, local TV commentators Kim Bokamper and John Conjemi will do live analysis, and current players will appear for Q&As and fans can talk to each other as well. Bud Light Seltzer’s brand will be tied to a feature called “Draft Stories,” which includes current and past players sharing their own memories of being drafted, Sandall said. Separately, the Dolphins earlier sent out “draft parties in a box” to key celebrity influencers and season-ticket holders. The Redskins also announced a virtual party, presented by 7-Eleven, that will be hosted across several social channels (Ben Fischer, THE DAILY).
LAST CALL FOR SAINTS' IDEA: In New Orleans, Amie Just reports the Saints confirmed they will "no longer be allowed to draft out of the Dixie Brewing Company," as they announced last week, following Goodell's pronouncement. The team last week began working in the brewery "to prepare for the draft" (New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE, 4/7). NBCSN's Mike Florio said the NFL is setting a "good example" by preventing teams from gathering outside their homes. Florio: "It’s the smart thing to do. It’s the right thing to do, and I applaud them for realizing, even if it came six days too late, that they can’t pull this off by allowing club officials to congregate” (“PFT,” NBCSN, 4/7).
UNIQUE CONCERNS THIS YEAR: In Baltimore, Jonas Shaffer notes Ravens coach John Harbaugh has a “big concern” about the team’s draft operations being impacted by hackers. He said, “Every time I read something in, like, the Wall Street Journal or the New York Times that talks about how messed up Zoom is, or some of these other deals ... I immediately text it to our IT people.” He said that the IT department is “doing everything humanly possible” to prevent any potential hacks (BALTIMORE SUN, 4/7). Rams GM Kevin Demoff said, “Hacking into a team’s draft room on Zoom … would be my biggest concern just from an encryption standpoint of how do you have these conversations confidentially” (NBCSPORTS.com, 4/6).
WHO'S ZOOMIN' WHO? NFL Network's Ian Rapoport noted the draft is "going to be everyone in front of their computer, maybe at their kitchen table, basically on Zoom or some other video format” ("NFL Total Access," NFL Network, 4/6). In Chicago, J.J. Stankevitz noted it is clear that no team “really wants to do the draft over a Zoom teleconference,” but that is “how the 2020 draft will happen.” Stankevitz: “It won’t be ideal to conduct it from everyone’s individual office or basement as opposed to a buzzing draft room. But that should be fine… so long as no one’s WiFi cuts out” (NBCSPORTSCHICAGO.com, 4/6).
