May 8, 2014; New York, NY, USA; A general view of a helmet and NFL shield logo before the start of the 2014 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
We are just a short time removed from the 2014 NFL Draft, but that doesn’t mean we can’t start talking about the 2015 NFL Draft. The league and owners will be meeting tomorrow, Tuesday the 20th, for their annual spring meeting. One of the major topics of discussion will be the time and place of the 2015 NFL Draft.
This year it was already pushed back to early May and this was a point of contention for many fans and some owners as well. Pushing back the draft by almost 3 weeks put almost 2 months in between the start of free agency and the draft. This kinda of time frame allowed for a low point in football coverage over the off-season. With the draft over, we look towards OTAs and mini-camps that will take us right into the mix of training camp and also to the preseason.
Not only might the NFL decide to move the 2015 NFL Draft farther back into May, Radio City Music Hall may or may not be on the bill for the spot of commencement. They are discussing the possibility of having the draft in another location. This I could tolerate, and if this was the only change, I probably would. Location is not as important to me as would be the time it takes place and how long it takes as well. Another factor is coming into play as well though. Not only would they be looking to move the location, but possibly have it in 3 or 4 different locations, a different location for each day. They are also looking at having the event span 4 days. Round 1, Round 2, Round 3, and then Rounds 4-7 each on a separate day, which would mean that they would have to have 4 different locations set up to hold 1 draft.
Really!? Whose asinine idea is this. The draft already takes forever and a day. And it is 3 days right now. Can we see adding another day? Not to mention that it seemed like it took forever to get to the draft this year? Lets move it farther back so the teams miss their first one to two OTAs that they would have with their rookies and second year players and add more of a lull in between the free agency and the draft. Oh, and how about this great idea, lets use 3-4 different locations as well and make everyone travel each day. What happens to those player projected in the 1st round but don’t get picked until the 2nd round. They have to change hotels and fly somewhere else? What happened to the “lets bring more families into the draft and let them experience it along with their children” attitude? For a monetary ploy this is getting ridiculous. I know that the NFL is all about the money but take into consideration the players, teams, families, and the fans that support you.
PFTs Mike Florio put it great when he stated, regarding the topic at hand,
"Per a source with knowledge of the situation, a decision is expected to be made by the end of summer, at the latest. Possibly via a prime-time TV broadcast.That last part was intended to be tongue-in-cheek. But since the approach would put cash-in-pocket, it can’t be ruled out."
Ridiculous is all I can say at this point.