Indications are strong that the annual NFL owners meeting to be held March 22-25 in Dana Point, Calif., could be one of the most compelling gatherings in many years.

And the country's economic woes appear to be a big reason why.

Not only will the owners be hearing from the NFL's Competition Committee on a number of rules changes to impact games during the season, but whispers are growing louder that the league may be ready to consider making dramatic changes to the offseason schedule, including changing the dates for the postseason all-star games, the Scouting Combine, the draft and veteran free agency.

Multiple inside sources throughout the league have told PFW that the economic climate, coupled with the uncertainty of the next Collective Bargaining Agreement with the players in addition to the potential for an uncapped year in 2010 and a potential lockout in '11, have made cost-cutting measures a top priority.

The decision by commissioner Roger Goodell to take a 20 percent pay cut in annual salary and to eliminate 169 league jobs back in February might have been the prelude to bigger and bolder budgetary decisions, though nothing has been decided yet.

For instance, the draft has been held in late April or early May since 1977. However, there are a number of movers and shakers in the league who believe that veteran free agency should follow the draft, and with the CBA still to be agreed upon for the next contract, this issue could be a bargaining chip for owners.

Those same league insiders would like to see the draft moved to late February, with free agency to commence following rookie minicamps, most likely in mid-to-late March.

"They need to get the draft put ahead of free agency," one veteran talent evaluator told PFW.

If the draft were to be held two months earlier, it obviously would compress the time allowed to evaluate talent. All-star games for college seniors would be affected, as would the Scouting Combine.

The Senior Bowl, the most popular all-star game for player evaluation in the league and a traditional gathering spot for NFL coaches, GMs and scouts in the week before the Super Bowl, has been held in Mobile, Ala., for years. However, Senior Bowl organizers are looking for an NFL venue to move their event to and have given Tampa, Fla., exclusive negotiating rights to become the long-term home of the game.

The East-West Shrine Game, an all-star bowl game for college seniors that began in 1925 and spent 80 years in the San Francisco area before moving to Texas in 2006, is also seriously considering moving to Tampa.

By having both big senior showcases in the same city, the games could work in unison to attract the best talent and give prospects an opportunity to practice for two weeks in front of NFL decision makers, plus play games on back-to-back weekends.

The Combine would be held in early February following the Super Bowl. With little time for players to work out on their own and hold pro days at their school, the Combine would become even more important for prospects to show NFL scouts what they can do. It wouldn't be a surprise if the number of invitees to the Combine was increased to accommodate more prospects.

The biggest upside for the league and its 32 teams in combining the Senior Bowl and East-West Shrine Game in the same city along with an expanded Combine is tremendous travel savings. Expenses have grown exponentially over the years, with teams sending scouts across the country from all-star game to all-star game and from pro day to pro day. By making travel more efficient for scouts and personnel men, the league believes each team could save millions of dollars.

One other key factor in holding the draft earlier is that it is likely to limit the amount of input from the head coach and his assistants. It will force teams to rely more on their scouting staffs and personnel departments. The earlier draft will reward well-organized and talented scouting departments and expose less-talented, less-informed scouts.

With the league streamlining the draft in recent years and moving in the direction of making the first two rounds a prime-time event, the timing of a late-February draft would be excellent in terms of taking place during one of TV's key sweeps months. It also would be at a relatively dead time in the sports calendar - before college basketball's March Madness or baseball's spring training and well before the NBA or NHL playoffs begin.

The earlier draft would allow teams to select for need with younger players first, then see what they've got in minicamps before deciding whom to pursue in free agency. The system currently encourages teams to fill roster needs with veteran free agents before the draft.

Pro days won't go away. In fact, less-heralded draft-eligible players who aren't drafted could still hold pro days to showcase their skills when working out with juniors who are being evaluated in anticipation of the following year's draft. As a result, teams would be encouraged to start collecting information for the next draft as soon as possible and have their scouting departments be prepared to hit the ground running in the fall.

Finally, pushing up the draft would naturally create a lengthy break from league business - allowing for ample downtime in May and June - something that many league insiders believe is desperately needed to prevent burnout and the feeling of being on a treadmill that they can't get off.

"Some way, somehow, the NFL needs to find a way to give the league more of a break," a top executive told PFW. "It's like a treadmill that keeps getting faster and faster. They need to have a bigger window between the draft and free agency, regardless of which one comes first."