ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio will participate in the 2020 NFL Draft simulcast with NFL Network just like everyone else. He will be at his home and join hosts remotely via video link.
In a recent interview with Front Office Sports, Paolantonio noted that he is happy to be a part of the evening and doesn’t fault the NFL for staging the event during a global pandemic.
“I want to do my job. You want to do your job. People want to go back to work in this country,” Sal Pal told Michael McCarthy. “We want to do it, however, in a safe and healthy way. I don’t begrudge the NFL wants to do its job as long as they can do it in a safe manner.”
Paolantonio pushes back on the idea that the draft is something America needs right now. He noted that while it will be a “welcomed distraction” for sports fans stuck at home, plenty of others around the country don’t have the time to follow the event.
“I don’t buy that it’s going to be a ‘welcome distraction.’ It’s not going to be a welcome distraction for the doctors and the nurses on the front line. So let’s be careful how we use that,” he says.
As for his thoughts on a virtual draft, Paolantonio said the concerns about the potential for hacking feels familiar. He compared the paranoia of people like Ravens coach John Harbaugh to what he saw while he was in the Navy.
“By our very nature, we were suspicious of leaks. That’s why they say “loose lips sink ships.” So I lived with, met with, talked to, was at sea with, many paranoid people. I know suspicious minds, how they work. You don’t want the enemy to have your secrets. You just don’t.”
Sal Paolantonio will be a part of the NFL Draft coverage that will be simulcast across ESPN and the NFL Network on Thursday and Friday. ABC will carry its own draft coverage on those two days. All three networks will simulcast the same coverage on Saturday for rounds 4-7.
