Washington Redskins Unveil 'Virtual Draft Party', Leaving Fans With Many Questions

Every spring, all 32 NFL teams hold massive parties for their fans during the NFL Draft. They pack [...]

By John Newby

Every spring, all 32 NFL teams hold massive parties for their fans during the NFL Draft. They pack supporters into the stadium or designated areas, bring in key players from the team, and celebrate every selection being made. However, these parties will not be taking place during the 2020 NFL Draft due to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.

The NFL informed teams that the upcoming roster-building event will take place as planned but fan events will not happen. Instead, the selections in Las Vegas will be made virtually. The 32 franchises are following suit and are searching for other ways to get their fans involved. The Washington Redskins announced that they will be holding a virtual draft party for the fans, which will feature head coach Ron Rivera, quarterback Dwayne Haskins, and vice president of player personnel Kyle Smith.

"The 2020 Virtual Draft Experience is a 3-hour live stream broadcast featuring celebrity guests, influencers, Redskins coaches and current and former Redskins players such as Dwayne Haskins and Brian Mitchell just to name a few! You can also interact throughout the show for chances to win exclusive Redskins and 7-Eleven prizes!" the team revealed in a press release. Not all of the special guests were named, which led to some fans calling for former wide receiver Santana Moss.

Following this announcement, several fans of the team reacted with both excitement and confusion. There were certainly many happy to hear that they will still be able to interact with the team and fellow fans during the annual team-building event. However, they still had numerous questions about how the virtual aspect will be handled.

RSVP

As some fans pointed out on social media, the Redskins asked that all potential attendees RSVP. This would provide them with a headcount in the weeks leading up to the 2020 NFL Draft. Considering that this is a virtual event, there were immediate questions about why this headcount was needed. Was it really necessary to RSVP for this virtual fan event?

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Quarterback

All offseason, there have been rumors that the Redskins will draft a quarterback despite selecting Haskins with a first-round pick in 2019. There is a new head coach in town, and some figures believe that Rivera will be searching for "his guy." However, having Haskins present for the fan event makes it appear to some that a QB won't be selected.

The Chicago Bears took part in a similar situation during the 2017 NFL Draft. The team signed free-agent Mike Glennon to a three-year, $45 million deal and invited him to the draft party weeks later. Glennon was on hand watching with fans when the Bears traded up to and selected QB Mitchell Trubisky with the second overall pick. This moment was viewed as awkward by outsiders and led to Glennon ultimately being benched after four starts.

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Other Options

The Washington Redskins drew praise from some media members for this virtual event, but there were some fans that simply asked, "why?" The reason for these questions is that the franchise and owner Daniel Snyder have both drawn considerable criticism in recent years. Tickets for Redskins games even dropped to a mere $4 for some seats.

If multiple teams decide to follow suit and hold virtual draft events, will viewers join the Redskins, or will they search for other options? Having Snyder present for the event could impact the fans' decisions. They might simply attend a different party in order to avoid the team owner.

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Teammates

While many expect the Redskins to select a signal-caller with the second overall pick, there are many that actually feel the team will go in a different direction. In fact, having Haskins in the building just solidifies this opinion for them. Ohio State pass rusher Chase Young is viewed as the top overall player in the NFL Draft, and he has been routinely linked to the Redskins. Young previously was teammates with Haskins, and some fans believe that they will reunite at the end of April.

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Dressed Appropriately

With people around the world relying on Zoom and other video-conferencing platforms, dress codes have been relaxed just a bit. The camera only shows a portion of each person, so they could wear a suit jacket and tie along with sweatpants or board shorts. Will this affect how Haskins dresses for the virtual draft party?

With Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness taking over social media conversations since its release on Netflix, there are some fans that believe Haskins should use the show as inspiration. They want to see him dressed like Joe Exotic during this virtual draft party. Although they did not clarify if Haskins should have the same facial hair.

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Alcohol

The fans and guests alike will not be traveling for the virtual draft party, so there will not be concerns about drinking and driving. Does this mean that there will be an excess of alcohol consumed during the first round and into the next two days? For some Redskins fans, the amount of alcohol could very well depend on which player is selected second overall. The vocal majority has called for the Redskins to select Young and fix the pass rush, but there are some that have expressed concern about a potential QB selection.

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No Mention

When the Washington Redskins announced the virtual draft party, several NFL insiders retweeted the information and talked about how this is a "neat" idea. However, there were some fans frustrated that this attention didn't turn to other teams. They had seen similar announcements from other franchises, so why was Washington getting all of the attention?

Many fans pointed out that the Miami Dolphins had previously announced a virtual draft party that will take part on Facebook. No one noticed or mentioned that this was happening, which led to frustration among those that root for the Florida-based franchise. They voiced their frustrations on Twitter, calling for more media attention.

(Photo Credit: Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

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