Battle Red Blog

A year removed from last year’s draft and you can tell we are in a substantially different landscape just hours removed from one of the most unpredictable NFL Draft first rounds in recent memory. I don’t want to overstate the impact COVID has made on these past couple of drafts, however the amount of depth both in the middle rounds and what will more than likely be available during priority UDFA signing after the draft will be nothing to laugh at, to say the least. The impact COVID did have though was mainly in communication. In an interview after the Isaiah Wilson fallout in Tennessee, Taylor Lewan was quoted defending GM Jon Robinson alluding to something many decision makers around the league hinted at. Lewan mentioned that the virtual meetings made it much harder to get a feel for these prospects versus an in-person conversation. As if the meetings weren't limiting enough, they also didn’t have a combine and pro days were a lot more limited than in years prior. More and more information was getting distributed online instead of behind closed doors. Suddenly, leaks were plentiful, connections were logical to make, and most people who knew where the credible sources were basically got six or seven picks for free depending on if you chose right for Mac Jones or Trey Lance. This year, now that things have sorta, almost, started to return slightly back to normal-ish, we are seeing a chaotic cocktail of variables shaping this draft into one of the hardest to predict; merely a year after what was one of the more straightforward drafts. In some weird way, I find that to be kind of beautiful.