Even in the times of the coronavirus, the Bengals are still the Bengals.
Selecting first overall in the NFL’s virtual mock draft on Monday, Cincinnati somehow managed to screw things up, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who tweeted that a “technical glitch” derailed things straight from the outset.
Text from a participant on the NFL’s mock draft that started at 1 pm EST. “Mock draft today already technical glitch w Cincinnatis 1st pick!!! Brutal.”
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 20, 2020
The NFL decided to hold the mock draft so that general managers from across the league would have the opportunity to get comfortable drafting in a virtual environment and get a chance to make sure their equipment is in working order.
My at-home war room is almost like I’m at the @SAPSports Performance Facility. Thanks to our IT and video teams + our scouts and coaches we’re ready for the #NFLDraft this week. #IGYB pic.twitter.com/ytuZKY9Bk4
— John Lynch (@JohnLynch49ers) April 20, 2020
But, as Schefter and his colleague Dianna Russini both reported on Monday, things did not go smoothly, beginning with Cincinnati. Whether the technical glitch was the fault of the league or the Bengals IT team is unclear at this point.
I’m texting with multiple coaches and GM’s who are on this mock draft call and everybody is saying the same thing which is band width is a problem. There are many communication issues.
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) April 20, 2020
Text from a GM during this mock draft “there are early communication issues because 32 of us GMs are on conference call and we didn’t hit mute. Sounds awful”
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) April 20, 2020
"After the start, its running smoothly. Its quiet actually on the call"
Text from another Head Coach on mock draft.— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) April 20, 2020
Asked a coach to describe this mock draft “You got the NFL main room-that only main people in the organization can log into, you got 15-20 scouts/ coaches on another meeting. You have to find a way to call prospects after you pick them, sign off on trades, lots of moving parts.”
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) April 20, 2020
I was on the phone with a head coach talking about the mock draft today and he was losing his mind because his Internet went down…apparently his young children were all on their iPads using up the band width. “ everybody get off the Internet”-in loud dad voice.
I hung up.— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) April 20, 2020
In addition to technical issues like the ones the league dealt with on Monday, some people are concerned hacking could be a problem during the official virtual draft on Thursday.
Assuming they aren’t hacked and their internet doesn’t conk out, the Bengals are expected to take quarterback Joe Burrow out of LSU with the first pick of Thursday’s draft. Knowing that he is likely going to be the top selection, Burrow reportedly reached out to another former No. 1 pick in Peyton Manning.
“Joe called me last week,” Manning said. “We have somewhat of a relationship since he came down to our football camp last summer. He asked me about some of the things that I tried to do when I was a rookie that maybe he can apply to his NFL career — looks like it’s going to be with the Cincinnati Bengals. I told him, ‘Joe, when you’re the first pick in the NFL draft, you’re going to a team that has really earned the first pick in the NFL draft. There are going to be some holes there. There was a reason the Colts were picking No. 1 that year, there’s a reason the Bengals are picking No. 1 this year.’”
It’s the same reason the Bengals can’t even pick correctly during a mock draft that counts for nothing.
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