Giants' Dave Gettleman Explains Why He Wore Mask During 2020 Virtual NFL Draft

New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman provided a striking moment during the first round of the NFL draft Thursday night when cameras caught him donning a face mask while he sat in front of his home computer. 

Now there's a bit more clarity behind that move from the man himself. 

"Well, I have a young IT fellow over here with me," Gettleman told ESPN's Jordan Raanan. "And we're social distancing. Part of it is the mask. I'm fine."

In taking the extra precaution, Gettleman was looking out for the safety of a team employee as well as himself. The 69-year-old executive is a cancer survivor who was treated for lymphoma two years ago. 

While the GM was left to draft from his home like the rest of the league, New York had an operations and analytics employee on site making sure there were no hiccups as the team held the fourth overall pick this year. 

The Giants are far from the only team to take extra security measures while practicing social distancing. The Detroit Lions had their director of IT station in an RV outside the home of general manager Bob Quinn in case of any glitches, while Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider had walls ripped up in his house to make he was properly equipped with ample technology for the draft. 

Fortunately, all picks were made without any noticeable issues Thursday. The Giants selected offensive tackle Andrew Thomas out of Georgia. 

That's not to say the IT support wasn't needed. Gettleman told ESPN he was working the phones to trade down from No. 4 up until it was time to make the pick. He just wasn't able to come across any "firm offers." 

According to Raanan, Thomas was New York's top tackle, but the Giants felt he may be available later on in the round. Gettleman grabbed him with the fourth overall pick anyways, hoping to provide more support for quarterback Daniel Jones and tailback Saquon Barkely.