The NFL Draft is known for its wild unpredictability. And yet, NFL insiders have continually fought over whether or not they should report picks on Twitter before they’re shown on the television broadcast. NFL Network’s Peter Schrager believes it shouldn’t even be an option.
During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show Thursday, Schrager gave an impassioned plea for why fans, and McAfee himself, should avoid Twitter during the night of the NFL Draft.
“The agents and the team knows before the pick’s announced, and I’m usually on some thread where I’ll be given the tip. But I take no great joy in spoiling that for everyone,” admitted Schrager. “This is the draft! This is what we want! This is one of the few things in the NFL that could truly blow us away. I’m gonna say this: turn off the Twitter tonight.”
Schrager’s insistence to turn off Twitter came after he told the show to treat the NFL Draft “like it’s 2004”, and just simply react to the events of the evening, rather than having a heads up on who is about to be taken due to following other NFL insiders.
In the past, ESPN and NFL Network instructed its reporters not to tweet selections before the picks had been announced. However, other NFL reporters not working with those organizations are privy to the same information, and continually tweet out the information in advance of the broadcast.
McAfee pointed out that NFL reporter Ari Meirov feels similarly to Scharger, but has used the edict from ESPN and NFL Network to his advantage and shares the information before reporters like Adam Schefter, Chris Mortenson, and Ian Rapoport.
