Latest On NFL’s Trial Run Draft

With the 2020 NFL draft going fully remote due to COVID-19, the league wants to ensure that its technology platforms will work when the event gets underway next Thursday. To that end, the NFL will conduct a mock draft trial run on Monday, as Lions general manager Bob Quinn told reporters today.

But how exactly will such a dry run work? As Dan Graziano of ESPN.com tweets, no club wants to “tip its hand” during the trial run by naming actual prospects from this year’s draft. NFL front offices, of course, are known for their secrecy, but this level of safeguarding makes sense.

Instead, teams will likely select placeholders instead of actual 2020 prospects. One example Graziano was given could involve the Bengals drafting Boomer Esiason at No. 1, followed by the Redskins taking Joe Theismann at No. 2, etc.

Using such a system would allow the NFL to determine that its system is working and ensure that every club is capable of making its picks known. And teams could rest easy knowing that they won’t be forced to give anything away in advance of the actual draft.

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