Why Penn State head football coach James Franklin wants the NFL Draft pushed back
The novel coronavirus has brought the sports world to a halt in the past two weeks. The NCAA canceled its winter championships, the NBA and NHL suspended their seasons, and MLB pushed back the start to its 2020 season.
The NFL, however, has trudged forward.
Free agency began last week and the 2020 NFL Draft is still slated to take place April 23-25, even though pro days and visits to team offices have been canceled for incoming prospects.
The lack of preparation and opportunity for college players who are pursuing their dreams are part of the reason Penn State head coach James Franklin wants the draft to be pushed back.
“I’ve had a lot of (general managers) calling me about the draft,” Franklin said in a teleconference Wednesday afternoon. “Our guys are not able to have a pro day ... That’s the thing that I would say has probably been challenging and concerning. I wish the NFL would push the draft back to take pressure off all these players, to take pressure off these universities and agents ... so (the players) still have the best chance to be evaluated.”
The Penn State head coach had 12 players from the 2019 roster slated to participate in his program’s pro day on March 17 before it was canceled, with five already participating in the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine in late February and early March. Among those players were two projected early-round picks, wide receiver K.J. Hamler and defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos.
Franklin isn’t alone in his desire to have the draft postponed.
NFL general managers voted to recommend pushing the draft back, according to ESPN’s Diana Russini and Adam Schefter.
Even with the recommendation, the report said the NFL still plans to hold the draft as scheduled in late April.
This story was originally published March 25, 2020 at 5:33 PM.
