Report: NFL Advises Agents to 'Proactively Scrub' Prospects' Tweets Before Draft

The NFL has reportedly advised agents to scrub their players' Twitter accounts of any old tweets that could be deemed questionable ahead of the 2020 NFL draft.

According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the NFL doesn't want any old tweets to surface and overshadow the draft prospects "during this critical time."

One of the reasons for the NFL's request is that it plans to highlight past tweets from NFL draft prospects "in a positive way" during the draft and doesn't want any old tweets to steal the spotlight instead.

It has become commonplace in recent years for Twitter and Instagram users to dig up and expose old tweets and posts from prospects around draft time, with San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa and Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen standing out as prime examples over the past two years.

Last year, it was found that Bosa had previously liked some homophobic and racist Instagram posts in addition to some controversial tweets he sent regarding Colin Kaepernick, President Donald Trump and the movie Black Panther.

Two years ago, Allen apologized for tweets sent while in high school in 2012 and 2013 in which he used racist language.

Perhaps the most famous example of social media negatively impacting a players' draft stock is when video of offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil smoking marijuana through a gas mask surfaced just prior to the start of the 2016 NFL draft.

Tunsil was widely expected to be a top-five pick, but he fell all the way to the Miami Dolphins at No. 13. Last season, as a member of the Houston Texans, Tunsil became a Pro Bowler for the first time.

Per Florio, the NFL has made it clear that it only wants positive press surrounding players entering the NFL this year since it is an important time in their lives that should be celebrated.

The 2020 NFL draft will be unique in that it won't take place in front of a crowd and will feature all 32 NFL general managers drafting from home because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Despite the restrictions, the NFL draft is moving forward as scheduled and will still be televised from April 23 to 25.