Dimitroff, Falcons staff preparing for all-virtual NFL Draft

ATLANTA - The 2020 NFL Draft war room Thomas Dimitroff will sit in later this month will look in many ways like a hardcore fan's fantasy league draft setup.

Dimitroff showed off the room in his house from which he will call the shots to media on a video conference call Tuesday afternoon, though he said it may look a little different on draft day.

His team is planning on a few mock drafts to make sure everyone is comfortable with the new format.

Dimitroff's main concerns for the virtual NFL Draft are glitchy technology, spotty connections and online security. He hopes the NFL considers leeway in getting picks in, in case of technology or connection failure.

2020 NFL Draft is officially going virtual

He said the biggest question they're considering right now is: "How much technology do you implement or how simple do you make it?"

The philosophy of "best player available" still applies in 2020, though Dimitroff said they may have to make decisions on some prospects based on 75 percent of the information they're used to having.

"We know that we're not going to have everything; we're not going to have all the medicals," he said. "We're not going to have all the information that we maybe had in the past."

"(The philosophy) is need for sure, but it's best player at that position for sure, which could be more than one," he said.

As for players who did not have the beenfit of a NFL Combine showcase, the Falcons are relying on scouts' interactions with players from campus visits in the last 14 months and looking at game tape in lieu of pro days being cancelled.

HOUSTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 06: Thomas Dimitroff General Manager and Head coach Dan Quinn of the Atlanta Falcons speak on the field prior to the game against the at NRG Stadium on October 06, 2019 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)

He, Dan Quinn and other coaching staff members are conducting video calls with prospects to get to know them more now instead of hosting them for visits as they typically would this time of year.

"The other thing we're really doing now that is a big, big deal is we're utilizing FaceTime processes right now, spending a lot of time with a lot of different players," Dimitroff said.

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Having much of the pre-draft leadup meetings every day on Microsoft Teams already, Dimitroff said his team is prepared to continue that communication method on draft day.

"I think we're going to have to be open-minded, we're going to have to be flexible about it for four or five hours as we have discussions," Dimitroff said.