Which Part of a Virtual Draft Process Concerns Jaguars GM Dave Caldwell?

With the entirety of the NFL Draft set to be done virtually, one aspect of the process causes Jaguars GM Dave Caldwell angst.

With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing the 2020 NFL Draft to become a completely virtual event, it is only natural for general managers to have some anxiety about how certain aspects of the draft are bound to be set up. 

Count Jacksonville Jaguars general manager Dave Caldwell in that group. In a video conference with local media on Thursday, Caldwell pointed out that one important part of the draft may become increasingly more complicated as the draft progresses this year: making trades.

"As far as the process goes in talking to some of the GMs across the league, we have started some potential scenarios of potentially trading up and trading back. I think right now that is probably the one thing that gives me a little bit of angst of how that process is going to go on," Caldwell said. 

It is reasonable for Caldwell and other general managers to have some pause when it comes to making trades as the draft goes on. While there is plenty of time in the first round for a team to work out the logistics of a potential trade, the clock becomes increasingly shorter as the draft progresses, giving teams a smaller margin of error.

"I feel good about being able to exercise a trade in the first round with the time limit. I think as you get into the third and the fourth and the later rounds where the time is shorter, it will be interesting to see if I can use my left hand as well as my right hand in terms of making calls and making trades and trying to figure out the value of that," Caldwell said. 

"There are still some logistics and our IT people are setting up our remote draft room tomorrow. I will have a better feel of how that process is going to play out. There is probably the one thing that I have a little bit of concern about – exercising the trade in the later [rounds].”

While Caldwell has never made a first-round trade since becoming the Jaguars' general manager in 2013, he has been active in later rounds during his tenure. He has made aggressive trade ups in the second round for Allen Robinson, Myles Jack, and Jawaan Taylor, while also making deals in the later rounds for Brandon Linder (third round). With 12 draft picks, Caldwell will likely want to be aggressive once again this year, making it logical for him to have anxiety about how trades are supposed to unfold.

In terms of how the Jaguars' virtual draft room will be set up in this year's unique event, Caldwell said the team will essentially have all of the members of the typical draft room in a call together, including owner Shad Khan.

“We will have everyone on a Microsoft Teams call, everybody that normally would be in the draft room will be on the call. There will probably be some additional people now that we are not limited by space. (Owner) Shad Khan will be on the call, too and Doug (Marrone), myself," Caldwell said. 

"Anybody that normally is in the draft room (will be on the call). We will also have a call that is tied to the league and Doug, myself and probably (Director of Football Administration) Tim Walsh will be on that call in terms of submitting that pick and for trade purposes.”