Green Bay Packers Finalize Preparations for Unprecedented Draft

As the Green Bay Packers prepare for the draft, they face a whole new set of circumstances in how they’ll make their picks.

The Green Bay Packers are putting the final touches on their preparation for this week’s draft.  A draft that is unprecedented, in many ways.

General Manager Brian Gutekunst and his team won’t be permitted to gather at Lambeau Field, as they typically do and so in addition to preparing their list of player rankings, they’re likely spending just a much time setting expectations for how they’ll operate come Thursday night.

Since the advent of COVID-19 and the impacts that it has had, this year’s NFL draft format and rules are unlike any that we’ve seen before.

Initially, the league sent a memo to all teams letting them know that they could conduct the draft at their team facility, provided that it was safe to do so.  Just days later, the order was issued that all team personnel are to operate from their respective homes.

With everyone who is typically in the draft war room now in a separate location, communication and the overall vibe of that room will be drastically different.

To aid teams with that reality, the league sent each team various pieces of equipment to help them create more ideal communication with each other as well as the capabilities to broadcast from their homes.

Additionally, each stakeholder from each team will be permitted one IT expert with them to ensure that all operations are up and running and to fix any bugs that arise.

Anticipating that there will certainly be hiccups, the league will pause the draft at any point if a team is experiencing any technical issues that hinder them from being able to appropriately proceed while on the clock.  This can include internal communications or trade calls, for example.

With as much preparation as typically goes into a draft and in the year 2020, we might think that this set up shouldn’t be as challenging as it seems.  But many teams operate differently.

Some general managers have scouting backgrounds and, as the final voice for any pick, are more comfortable with the remote aspect.  This is where the Green Bay Packers may have an advantage, as Gutekunst falls into this category.

Other GM’s are more business-minded and rely heavily on their personnel team.  Despite them being just a phone call away, not having those voices nearby can and likely will create some more anxious moments.

The reliability of the technology in the room becomes more paramount to the Packers and their fans when we consider that the past two drafts have seen Green Bay move around quite a bit, especially early on.  It’s fair to expect that the phones and other communication devices will be busy this year as well.

With several areas to improve on their roster both this season and beyond, this is a pivotal opportunity for the Packers to infuse needed talent.  Here’s hoping that it’s “all systems go” come draft weekend.