SALT LAKE CITY — The coronavirus pandemic will have an impact on the pre-draft process for the NFL, which is scheduled to hold its 2020 draft April 23-25 in Las Vegas.
The league sent out a memo Friday — shared on Twitter by The MMQB NFL senior writer Albert Breer — that stated the NFL is prohibiting in-person pre-draft visits involving draft-eligible players effectively the end of the business day Friday.
Local pro days — when colleges host pre-draft workouts for their athletes with NFL scouts in attendance — were scheduled for the end of this month, with Utah State on March 25, Utah on March 26 and BYU on March 27. On Friday, Utah announced all spring ball activities will be on hold “until further notice,” while BYU announced its pro day will be postponed.
In part, the memo reads: “Specifically, the following is prohibited:
- “Any draft-eligible player traveling to a club facility or other location to meet with club personnel;
- “Club personnel (including BLESTO or NFS scouts) traveling to any location, including a college campus to visit with a draft-eligible player.”
The NFL memo specified teams will still be permitted to conduct interviews via either telephone or video conference up until the day before the draft. Three new restrictions were outlined: clubs may not schedule more than three interviews with an individual per week, each communication may not last more than one hour, and telephone of video conferences must not interfere with a player’s school schedule.
Any cancellation of pro days would have the greatest impact on those draft-eligible players who did not work out at the NFL Scouting Combine at the end of February or get invited to the Senior Bowl or other college all-star games.
There were 12 locals who participated in last month’s combine — nine from Utah (RB Zack Moss, DE Bradlee Anae, DT Leki Fotu, DT John Penisini, LB Francis Bernard, CB Jaylon Johnson, NB Javelin Guidry, S Terrell Burgess and S Julian Blackmon) and three from Utah State (QB Jordan Love, DE Tipa Galeai and LB David Woodward).
Evan Brennan, a NFL player and coaches agent with United Athlete Sports Agency who has had several local clients over the years, addressed how the coronavirus pandemic could affect these players.
“In the football world, this is causing a lot of issues for football players that may not get drafted, guys that didn’t go to the combine as private workouts, 30 visits and pro days are being canceled across the country, and rightfully so due to some of the precautions. But It is causing a lot of havoc and it’s going to be interesting to see how this plays out,” Brennan said in a video he posted on Twitter on Friday morning, before the NFL sent out the memo.