This is a weird, weird year. And in case you need more evidence of this, New Era released the 2020 NFL Draft hats — and they’re actually really good.
The new NFL Draft hats are ... actually really good
A streak of horrible hats is broken!
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
via NewEraCap.com
Unlike 2019’s abomination which reeked of hometown pandering, New Era decided to lean into the NFL Draft’s Las Vegas locale with a series of neon-themed hats. Even if the draft doesn’t actually take place, these are undeniably memorable, and outside of some minor gripes (I don’t like team slogans on the side), they’re totally wearable.
The highest praise I could ever give a draft hat is saying I’d actually wear a draft hat, but to make sure this wasn’t due to bias or the result of lowered standards after being locked inside for a month, I asked Tyson Whiting, SB Nation’s senior designer, to give his thoughts:
“I think these are really great. The most successful ones are the teams with more simple logos, but not so simple that they lose the neon style, like the Cowboys and maybe Green Bay. The Chargers one was MADE for this, as well as the Titans. Just enough to make them feel stylized.
The Browns one, the Vikings, and the horrible Washington one are just too busy to the point where it’s distracting. The Jags and Bears ride the line of being too much, but they manage to keep good form. Overall, I love these, and it feels like they didn’t try too hard with the idea. It can allude to Vegas without smacking you in the face with die, or cards, or some dumb thing like that. I’d for sure get a Dolphins one if, you know … they played football or something.”
Kudos to New Era. I’m so used to lampooning horrendous draft hats that I sat down this morning fully expecting to roast them. It turns out they’re wonderful.
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