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NFL commissioner Roger Goodell often appears to be soulless businessman when he’s announcing draft picks in front of thousands of people, so putting him in a 1980’s themed basement and hoping he would be able to have fun with a unique draft probably wasn’t going to be an enjoyable experience for anyone watching at home.
And it wasn’t.
Goodell greeted us with a sports coat and no tie (business casual Goodell!), encouraged people to boo him on Twitter to help raise money for COVID-19 relief (which is great!), and then made things awkward throughout Thursday’s first round of the 2020 NFL Draft (which wasn’t great!).
Before each pick he would turn to a screen of likely prerecorded booing fans of the team he was announcing, he’d try to act all cool and encouraging and say something funny, but he failed each and every time in doing so. It was some seriously uncomfortable television from a man who always cares more about “The Shield” than acting like a normal, down to earth person.
Fans wasted no time of making jokes about Goodell’s basement, which one person on Twitter referred to as a “1991 Sears catalogue.”
Then sometime in the first round he took off his jacket and put on a V-neck sweater. Why? I have no idea but I’m guessing a team of PR people told him it might play better on TV.
It did not.
And then he botched an announcement about the Raiders hosting an upcoming NFL Draft, saying Las Vegas, which was supposed to host it this year, would get to host the draft again in “2020.” That will actually be in 2022, after it is in Cleveland next year.
Goodell has never been able to win over NFL fans and that trend continued Thursday night, even though nobody could boo him in person.
It’s a shame, because he deserves all the boos he gets. Remember how casually he played off that horrific no-call in the NFC Championship Game a few years ago?
The guy has never had an idea on how to read a room.
And that now includes a basement, too.
First-round draft grades for all 32 picks
Our Steven Ruiz graded and broke down every pick as it happened Thursday night. While there were a few A’s, there were some really bad picks, like the Packers going for a QB… in the first round! Go back and relive the first round and see how your team fared.
Quick hits: Jerry Jones’ yacht… Bill Belichick all alone… Kingsbury’s cool setup… And more!
– Jerry Jones’ draft room was in his $250 million super-yacht, because of course. And this super-yacht is huuuuuuuuge.
– This photo of Bill Belichick sitting alone in his house during the NFL Draft is too good.
– Kliff Kingsbury’s draft setup was really cool, which we knew it would be.
– Giants GM Dave Gettleman had a good reason for putting on a mask during the draft.
– This video of Bucs first-round pick Tristan Wirfs jumping out of a pool is insane.
– The Las Vegas Raiders made pick that would’ve made Al Davis proud.
– NFL fans were not happy to see Booger McFarland on ESPN’s NFL draft show.