The all-digital NFL draft has seen perhaps less technical difficulties than expected, but it did see some difficulties from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. With this draft being held virtually instead of in Las Vegas as originally planned, there was plenty of discussion heading into this draft that the NFL would make it up to Vegas by announcing that a future draft would be held there. And Goodell confirmed that on the draft broadcast around the (now Las Vegas) Raiders’ second pick (19th overall, following their 12th-overall pick of Alabama receiver Henry Ruggs III), but he managed to both confuse the city that was supposed to host the draft this year (Vegas, not Dallas) and the year in which Vegas would get their makeup draft (2022, not 2020):
“We think it would be fitting, as the Las Vegas Raiders welcome their second selection, to make a special announcement. As you may know, we were expecting to host the draft in Dallas, excuse me, in Vegas, this year. And we thank so many for the effort they put forward to prepare that possibility. And we think you deserve another shot. So we’re happy to announce here tonight that the Las Vegas Raiders will host the 2020 NFL draft.”
Yes, mistakes happen, and these are unprecedented times, but it’s still remarkable to see Goodell mess up two facts (the planned 2020 location and the date when Vegas would get a NFL draft) in the span of 30 seconds. And Goodell’s mishap on the second part also led to some media outlets (including Canada’s TSN) reporting that it would be the 2021 draft (already awarded to Cleveland) held in Vegas, not the 2022 one:
As ESPN’s Adam Schefter confirmed, though, this is in fact the 2022 draft for Vegas:
Future scheduled NFL Draft sites:
2021 – Cleveland
2022 – Las Vegas
2023 – Kansas City https://t.co/QAgz4aK7pp— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 24, 2020
So it is quite remarkable that Goodell managed to make two big mistakes on air within the span of 30 seconds.
[Clippit]