Why Former Executive Believes Patriots Have Advantage In 2020 NFL Draft

Former NFL Executive Scott Pioli spent nine years with the New England Patriots.

And that experience, seeing the ins-and-outs of the day-to-day work, has led Pioli to believe the Patriots have a leg up on the competition in regards to the unusual 2020 NFL Draft.

NFL teams have had to hold a majority of their pre-draft visits virtually during the ongoing coronavirus crisis, which marks unprecedented circumstances.

“For some teams, it does create chaos,” Pioli told NBC Sports Boston’s Tom E. Curran earlier this week on Curran’s “Patriots Talk Podcast.”

“But for teams like the Patriots, I really don’t think it does. We’ve heard all the stories and some complaining that’s gone on by teams about how difficult this is, but teams that have a system in place and that have personnel that know how to run the system (have the advantage).”

Pioli, who is now an analyst with CBS Sports, is a five-time NFL Executive of the Year. He worked in New England from 2000 to 2008 before stints with the Kansas City Chiefs and Atlanta Falcons. He was VP of Player Personnel with the Patriots for seven of those nine years.

“The Patriots have a very good system in place,” Pioli said. “They have so much continuity at the leadership positions that they know what they’re doing and it really won’t be that difficult.”

The comments from Pioli depict how he thinks the Patriots are in a better position for success than the other 31 NFL teams. The 2020 NFL Draft is set to begin on April 23.

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