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The 2020 NFL Draft will be unique, with all 32 teams making their selections remotely. The top prospects in the draft will also conference call in after their selections rather than walking across the stage in Las Vegas to shake hands with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
Because of the major changes, teams across the league are going through preparations to make sure there are no technological hangups when draft night comes.
One of those preparations includes all 32 teams participating in a mock draft, according to Pro Football Talk.
From the report:
All 32 teams will participate in a mock draft, with general managers and league officials all set up at their home offices to oversee the technology and make sure it functions properly, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. NFL general managers aren’t necessarily the most technologically adept people, so it isn’t surprising that they’re going to need some practice to feel confident they can do it right on draft day.
It is just the latest change in the NFL Draft since the league decided to take its show on the road. Las Vegas had edged out bids from cities like Denver, Kansas City, Nashville, and Cleveland/Canton to host this year’s draft from April 23 to April 25 before the last-minute changes.
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In recent years, the NFL has strayed from tradition and moved the draft out of New York City, where it had been held for years.
In 2015, the NFL Draft moved to Chicago, Illinois which marked the first time since 1965 that the draft was held outside of New York City. It was held at Auditorium Theatre in Grant Part which marked the first draft to feature an outdoor component. The draft returned to Chicago in 2016 after the great reception a year prior. In 2017, the draft shifted to Philadelphia where it was held on the iconic Rocky Steps outside of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It was the most attended draft in NFL history with more than 250,000 fans.
Then, in 2018, the draft was held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas and it marked more NFL first’s. It was the first time in history that the draft was held in the state of Texas, while also being the first draft to take place in an NFL stadium. The 2019 NFL Draft was held in Nashville, Tennessee.