2020 NFL Draft To Still Go On As Planned…For Now

• The NFL Draft is scheduled from April 23-25.
• LSU quarterback Joe Burrow is expected to be the No. 1 pick in the 2020 Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals.
• The NFL league year officially begins March 18.

LAS VEGAS – The coronavirus has already caused numerous sporting events worldwide to be canceled but the NFL Draft will not be among the victims. The 2020 NFL Draft is still scheduled to go on as planned April 23-25 in Las Vegas.

But, the Draft process has already been impacted by the coronavirus with some of the franchisees taking the necessary steps to prevent the spread of the coronavirus by canceling facility visits with Draft prospects and keeping veteran players from entering team facilities too.

And here’s the first of what could be many: Eagles are shutting down their training facility, team owner Jeffrey Lurie said in a statement.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 12, 2020

The Draft, being in a city like Las Vegas, should raise concerns for fans traveling to attend the event.

"The draft is slated to go on, but in what actual form is certainly a question," said Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network. "Will there be fans there? Will it be a big-time, return to sports moment for the NFL if the nation gets over this virus in that time? Or, will there be no fans? Will it be in a different location, potentially conducted by conference call? All of these things are options."

Although the NFL Draft is still scheduled to go on as planned teams shouldn’t have difficulties interviewing players with modern technology making it easy to communicate from anywhere.

The NFL has plenty of time before the Draft in late April to wait and see if the threat of the coronavirus has subsided. If not, at least the NFL does have alternate options already in thought to make a seamless change in the Draft.

Other Events To Be Affected?

While the world continues its fight against the global pandemic the NFL has time to handle this situation accordingly. However, the only thing for certain right now is the coronavirus won’t affect any futures bets on the Super Bowl.

The impact the coronavirus has on the NFL’s regular-season start date should be minimal as Week 1 isn’t scheduled to begin until September.

While several of the major professional sports leagues in the United States are delaying their seasons, the NFL has no plans to do so. The league has a new collective bargaining agreement to negotiate with players and the free agency period of the NFL is set to begin March 18.