Saquon Barkley, 2018 NFL Draft

“If I could do it again, I probably wouldn’t have gone to the draft.”- Saquon Barkley

LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, April 15, 2020 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Commissioner Roger Goodell informed all 32 NFL clubs that the 2020 NFL Draft would proceed in a fully virtual format The NFL revealed that during the broadcast, 58 of the best players coming out of college will indeed take part in the 2020 NFL Draft through live remote shots from their residences. There will be no fans attending, no green room and especially but sadly no bear hug from commissioner Roger Goodell. League and club facilities are set to remain closed indefinitely, to ensure the NFL is in compliance with current regulations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and therefore clubs were advised to prepare to conduct the draft outside of their facilities. Team personnel were furthermore advised to be in separate locations, using phone and the internet to communicate.

"Because of these circumstances, Clubs have been advised to prepare to conduct the 2020 Draft entirely outside of their facilities and in a fully virtual format, with club personnel in separate locations and able to communicate with one another and Draft headquarters by phone or internet,” states the NFL. “We have reviewed this matter in the past few days with both the Competition Committee and CEC, and this will confirm that Clubs will conduct their Draft operations remotely, with club personnel separately located in their homes.”

There might be a silver lining to all of this however as New York Giants running back, Saquon Barkley, met with Taylor Rooks from Bleacher Report to discuss that prospects this year could find themselves fortunate to be able to do the draft while at home. “If I could do it again, I probably wouldn’t have gone to the draft. Like, that memory of walking on the stage and getting a jersey is something that you never forget and something like that’s is always going to stick with me, states Saquon Barkley. “But, like, a lot of people don’t know, like, the behind the scenes. Like, I had to do, like, two or three hours of, like, media right after I got drafted. Like, I missed my own draft party. Jim Brown came to my draft party, and like, I called him when he was leaving my draft party, so, like, I didn’t really get to spend as much time as I would’ve liked to with my loved ones.” Seems that this virtual way of doing the draft will actually save prospects precious time that Saquon wishes he could get back. The reality of the situation though is there is no choice to this matter and prospects, current and future, should get used to this medium.

COVID-19's spread has altered the manner in which NFL teams and prospects prep for the draft. Pro Days seem to be a phenomenon of the past as the current trend of becoming social-distancing and self-quarantining rise. Barkley discussed how this would affect the next generation of talent in football: “I feel bad more for not the ones who know and they’re going to get drafted already. Kind of like, without having Pro Days and stuff like that. I do have a lot of close, personal friends who are kind of going through this. They have to film their Pro Days. They have to film 40s. Some people who had a Combine and didn’t do as well as they wanted to at the Combine, a lot of people make up for that at the Pro Day and they don’t. They’re not going to be able to get that. I feel bad more for those guys than the guys who aren’t going to be able to actually go to the draft,” concludes Saquon.

It appears that the future of the draft is up in the air and all new prospects should embrace for such a radical change. Barkley outlines some silver linings to a virtual draft and those should be considered as a good thing coming from such a highly respectable player. As for Barkley, all he can do now is sit and wait until after the coronavirus pandemic when the NFL off season schedule is reinstated. But do not worry Giants supporters, Barkley is making sure he isn't set back or holding back by the shortage of connections to the team facilities. He is already all in on training. With the addition of coach Joe Judge, Barkley will be prepping like no tomorrow for the next season and it will be his best yet.

Aurora DeRose
Michael Levine Media
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