Brandon Beane would support three more rounds for the draft

[Steely McBeam]

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Steelers G.M. Kevin Colbert reportedly has suggested that the draft be expanded from seven rounds to 10, given the unique and unprecedented challenges associated with the 2020 process. Bills G.M. Brandon Beane, appearing recently on #PFTPM, said he’d support three more rounds — if that’s what Colbert thinks makes sense this year.

“I understand Kevin’s point and listen Kevin’s got way more seniority than I do,” Beane said. “If he really wanted that and there was a lot of push for it, I would support it,” Beane said. “I’m operating [under the assumption] that it’s going to be seven rounds like normal.”

After the seventh round ends, the undrafted free-agent free-for-all commences, which will be even more challenging this year, given the limited information available to draw lines between who should and shouldn’t be pursued — especially with everyone working from home.

“sed to when you’re doing free agency like that after the seventh round, you’ve got everybody still in your draft room or at least down the hall,” Beane said. “Now, trying to communicate because you only have so many dollars that you can allocate from a bonus and so lot of times you have several deals going. Once you agree to one you’ve got to pull out of the others. If you’re chasing three tackles hoping to land one. If you’ve offered $15,000 to one and maybe you’re talking $12,000 to the other, but you don’t want them both. Once you get one in the boat you’ve got to back out on the other. It’s a moving target. I think that will be an obstacle for all teams as we work through it remotely.”

It definitely will be. And it will create plenty of stress for the undrafted players and their agents, who will be expected to make quicker-than-usual decisions about where they will be signing.

In a normal year, teams put plenty of pressure on undrafted players and their agents to pick their teams quickly. That pressure looks to be even greater this year.