There is a real sentiment around the NFL that the coronavirus pandemic is going to impact their drafting ability for the 2020 NFL draft. Teams are going in blind compared to other years, with no in-person meetings or workouts available since the NFL combine. When these teams eventually whiff on their premium draft picks, the pandemic will be used as an excuse for their misses.
That’s a load of crap. The hit rate on draft picks is so low that it doesn’t matter all that much that they’re missing the ability to do private workouts.
There was a full offseason when the Jaguars picked Blaine Gabbert over J.J. Watt. Lamar Jackson lasted until the 32nd pick in 2018 with four quarterbacks going ahead of him. Greg Robinson was drafted before Jake Matthews and Taylor Lewan during the 2014 draft. The Raiders had a boatload of information on Jamarcus Russell when they made him the first overall pick in the 2007. Blake Bortles was selected before Khalil Mack, Mike Evans, Odell Beckham Jr., and Aaron Donald.
The examples are endless.
NFL teams consistently make mistakes in the draft because drafting players is very, very difficult. When a team eventually misses on their first round pick in the 2020 NFL draft, there shouldn’t be an asterisk next to that draft pick. Drafting is the ultimate inexact science and a complete crapshoot, even in the earlier rounds.
These billion-dollar organizations have years of game film, testing numbers on most players via the NFL combine, and the ability to at least get to know their personalities using video calls. That’s more than enough information to select college football players to an NFL team. The notion that this weird offseason has created such a large void for general managers that they shouldn’t be held accountable for their misses this year is a bit silly.
NFL teams inherently aren’t good at the draft. Does the lack of being able to be around the NFL draft prospects make this year’s draft more difficult? Sure. More information is always useful.
However, we’re in a time where teachers are figuring out ways to communicate with classes of elementary school students via Zoom meetings to close the school years. Other companies and corporations are managing just fine with virtual work.
The truth is this: NFL jobs are so hard to obtain and so valuable that the people in charge will look for any reason to try and keep their jobs and this offseason is providing more excuses than ever. Don’t let the general managers and player personnel directors tell you otherwise: they’re just as likely to miss on their draft picks as any other year.
———
©2020 New York Daily News
Visit New York Daily News at www.nydailynews.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.