NFL GMs satisfied with virtual mock draft despite early tech issues

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Despite a rough start, the NFL's virtual mock draft held on Monday flowed well, according to multiple general managers.

"The draft went smooth, it got off to a little bit of a hiccup when we first started, but other than that it went really smooth," Denver Broncos general manager John Elway said, according to Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic. "There were really no problems with it, so we got comfortable with it.

"It should be fine to go on without a glitch. I'm sure there will be a couple glitches here and there, but actually for the first time I thought it went pretty well."

"When it comes down to the NFL and the draft, the heroes have been the IT people," Elway added, according to Jhabvala.

Green Bay Packers GM Brian Gutekunst had questions regarding the virtual draft setup, and the mock draft apparently provided answers.

"We got a lot of answers," Gutekunst said, according to Packers.com's Mike Spofford. "That was the big thing, getting through this and finding out the answers (about) how we really want to do this."

The NFL organized a final trial run prior to Thursday's draft, giving teams the opportunity to test out remote setups with this year's event taking place virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic.

There was a technical glitch with the Cincinnati Bengals' first overall pick during the mock draft. However, the issue, which resulted in a two-and-a-half-minute delay, wasn't the Bengals fault, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

"After the start, it's running smoothly. It's quiet actually on the call," a head coach told ESPN's Dianna Russini moments after the early issues.

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