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Like the rest of us, Eagles’ Howie Roseman might be working from home during this month’s NFL draft

Gatherings at team facilities are unlikely to be permitted when the draft is held, April 23-25.

This year, social distancing means you likely won't see Doug Pederson and Howie Roseman flanking the Eagles' top pick for a photo opportunity, as they did with Andre Dillard a year ago.
This year, social distancing means you likely won't see Doug Pederson and Howie Roseman flanking the Eagles' top pick for a photo opportunity, as they did with Andre Dillard a year ago.Read moreELIZABETH ROBERTSON / Staff Photographer
    by Les Bowen
    Updated 
    Published 

As the coronavirus crisis deepens, it seems more likely that NFL teams will have to conduct the April 23-25 entry draft the way they’ve handled much of their draft preparation over the past month or so -- remotely, from the homes of personnel executives.

NFL team facilities are closed by order of commissioner Roger Goodell and are unlikely to open again as long as stay-at-home orders are in effect in many states. We’ve known for a while that the planned draft festivities in Las Vegas were canceled and that the draft would be held remotely, in some fashion.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted Saturday that many teams are preparing for a draft in which they won’t have access to team facilities. Schefter indicated that teams are awaiting an edict from the league on what sort of gatherings will be permitted.

The Eagles deferred comment to the NFL, but they are believed to have been planning for this to be the case. General manager Howie Roseman lauded the team’s IT department in a recent conference call with reporters.

It will be interesting to see if there are glitches in a remotely-held draft. The possibility that Roseman, team owner Jeffrey Lurie, player personnel vice president Andy Weidl, and head coach Doug Pederson will be conferring throughout from their homes via conferencing software, presumably with Roseman in touch with the league office, allows plenty of room for mishaps, as will be the case in 31 other NFL cities.