The challenges of an NFL draft we may never see again

The NFL draft is a subplot riddled with inconsistencies, unknowns and overthought. Yet it’s never held more uncertainty than it will this week.

The coronavirus pandemic has made for unprecedented times. The NFL chose to move forward with its offseason schedule as the leagues around it, then in season, were postponed or canceled. The first wave of free agency went off without a hitch, but now the league moves into a not-so-simple process.

Thursday marks the beginning of the NFL draft, which evaluators feel features a deeper pool of talent than in recent years. It already was difficult to do positional rankings with this group, but the pandemic has complicated matters to the point that this is…