At last week's NFL Spring meetings in Boston, Roger Goodell confirmed earlier speculation that the 2014 NFL Draft would be moved back two to three weeks to happen between May 8 and May 17. The explanation offered was that Radio City Music Hall will be hosting an Easter show in the month of April, but he also confirmed that the draft would stay in the month of May in the future, which makes one wonder about the validity of the Easter show reasoning.
Matt Maiocco confirmed on Twitter this morning that the draft will start on May 8 in 2014:
2014 NFL calendar: Scouting combine, Feb. 18-25; Free agency/new league year begins March 11; NFL draft will be held May 8-10.
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoCSN) May 28, 2013
The other interesting part of that news is that the new league year and scouting combine have not been moved at this time. Prior speculation about moving the draft had also asserted that those other dates would be changed, and it's rather curious that they haven't.
Selfishly speaking, the important thing here is that we have two to three more weeks of pre-NFL draft coverage in the off season now as well as two to three fewer weeks between the NFL draft and the start of training camp. That's great news for people covering the sport, but I can't help thinking that it makes the jobs of coaches and general managers that much more difficult. The playing field remains even, however, and it makes the off season more tolerable for fans. It's hard to see that as anything other than a positive.