John Elway wants, but doesn’t need, the NFL Draft pushed back
Denver Broncos general manager John Elway spoke to Broncos TV about the team’s offseason, and mentioned his thoughts on moving the 2020 NFL Draft back.
Vic Fangio’s idea of keeping the Denver Broncos’ coaching staff at the team offices during the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine might have been a more impactful move than anyone could have foreseen at the time.
Fangio’s idea — which was also implemented by the Los Angeles Rams — was to have the rest of the coaching staff remain in Denver for NFL Draft film preparation while Fangio, general manager John Elway, top lieutenant Matt Russell, and a select few others traveled to Indianapolis for hands-on work at the Combine.
According to Elway, that move helped the team finalize their coaches draft boards, and has gotten them to a point where they could be confident if the 2020 NFL Draft were still held as scheduled on April 23.
Elway states in this interview with Broncos TV that the coaches staying back during the Combine and getting their extra film work in has been a big help in this crazy time where teams have had to limit their personnel in the building and now, not be there at all until the second week of April.
Elway is also hoping the NFL pushes the draft back, but at this point in time, the league has not made the decision to do that, even though they are no longer carrying on with the festivities in Las Vegas.
If even just from pressure from the teams around the league, the NFL may consider moving this year’s draft back at least a week or two since they have mandated that no team gather in their facility for work.
If the draft is going to go as planned, and right now that’s what it looks like, teams may resort to renting out hotel conference rooms or finding some other way to get together in a safe manner.
The Broncos certainly have not stated an intent to do this, but it’s possible for any NFL team if the league insists on business as usual after this mandatory two-week break from being in the offices.
One way or another, the Broncos will be prepared. Elway is confident in the work his coaches and scouts have done, and says that the scouts have even begun some preliminary work on the 2021 NFL Draft class.
This particular period of time in the pre-draft process is typically for Pro Days and private interviews on site with players. Last year, the only player the Broncos drafted who did not come in for a pre-draft visit was Juwann Winfree, who impressed the Broncos at their own facility at the local pro day.
Every other pick from last year’s class — Noah Fant, Dalton Risner, Drew Lock, Dre’Mont Jones, and Justin Hollins — was brought to Denver for a pre-draft visit.
Teams are having to do this now through things like FaceTime or other forms of video chatting. They are likely having to reach out to third-party doctors for physical information if they need it, but for that reason, it’s possible that players with health concerns could fall far in this draft.
Next. Free agent defensive linemen who could help the Broncos. dark
We will see what happens upon teams returning to their offices in early April — if that’s the case — but it would be a surprise if the NFL didn’t push the draft back at least a week to give teams proper time to prepare after mandating a work-from-home period of time.