With COVID-19 vaccines nearing full circulation across the country, the NFL is making changes to its draft format in 2021. After the 2020 NFL Draft made history as the first-ever fully virtual draft for team personnel, players and media, the league is allowing clubs to return to their war rooms in April.
On Thursday, the NFL sent a memo to all 32 teams outlining more relaxed protocols on masks and social distancing if all individuals in the draft room were fully vaccinated.
According to the memo, the draft room may contain "a maximum of 10 individuals who are all fully vaccinated." The league defines a fully-vaccinated individual as "someone who has received two doses of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines and has completed the requisite two-week post-shot period; or has received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and completed the requisite two-week post-shot period."
The NFL emphasized that if all these requirements are met, teams could relax their protocols during this year's draft selection. The 2021 NFL Draft is set to take place in Cleveland, Ohio from April 29 through May 1.
