The NFL has ramped up its draft presentation every year since taking it on the road in 2015, and Las Vegas would’ve been the ultimate show. That plan was nixed Monday, however, as the league announced it will not hold any public events. The move also negates any need for players or team/league personnel to travel.
The draft remains on schedule for April 23-25 and will be televised.
The first round will air April 23, followed by Rounds 2 and 3 on April 24 and the remaining rounds April 25.
Update on the 2020 NFL Draft pic.twitter.com/zeibQdPgWu
— NFL (@NFL) March 16, 2020
“While this outcome is disappointing both to the NFL and to the Las Vegas community, we look forward to partnering with the Raiders, the City of Las Vegas and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority for a future NFL Draft as well as evaluating opportunities for other major NFL events in Las Vegas in the future, including the Super Bowl,” commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement.
The 2021 draft is scheduled for Cleveland, and it goes to Kansas City in 2023. The league could bump Cleveland back a year or revisit Las Vegas in 2022.
Barring a trade, this will be a quiet draft for the Bears. They do not have a pick on the first day.
Here are the Bears’ selections:
Round 1: no selection
Round 2: No. 43 overall, No. 50 overall
Round 3: no selection
Round 4: No. 140 overall
Round 5: No. 163 overall
Round 6: No. 196 overall, No. 200 overall
Round 7: No. 226 overall, No. 233 overall
The Bears spent much of this year’s draft capital in trades for Khalil Mack and David Montgomery.
The No. 50 pick is their own, and the No. 43 selection came from the Mack deal with the Raiders. The Raiders have the Bears’ first-rounder at No. 19 overall.
The Bears also benefitted from a compensatory pick for the first time since 2009, picking up a fourth-rounder primarily because of the departure of safety Adrian Amos to the Packers a year ago.
