What happens during the NFL Supplemental Draft on July 11?
In the midst of the NFL’s quietest offseason period the NFL Supplemental Draft typically goes unnoticed with few high-profile players ruled eligible by the league. This year, five players will be made available for the 32 NFL teams to select from in a unique process.
The league does not use the same order from the typical NFL Draft where winning percentages and wins against division foes determine how teams pick in April.
Here we have all the information needed for the 2018 NFL Supplemental Draft, including scouting reports, draft picks, how the process works, and the best picks in the history of the NFL Supplemental Draft.
When will it take place
The 41st NFL Supplemental Draft will take place on July 11 at 1 p.m. eastern time through the NFL offices. The draft order will be predetermined, although teams will not know the order of each pick.
How it works
For the NFL Supplemental Draft, the league breaks all 32 teams into three tiers: non-playoff teams with six wins or fewer, non-playoff teams with more than six wins, and playoff teams.
Each of those tiers goes into a weighted lottery to determine the order with the team with the worst-winning percentage having the best odds to have the highest picks.
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Here’s each tier with teams listed in random order:
Tier 1: Cleveland, New York, Indianapolis, New York, Denver, Houston, San Francisco, Oakland, Miami, Chicago, Tampa Bay
Tier 2: Cincinnati, Baltimore, Los Angeles, Dallas, Washington, Detroit, Green Bay, Seattle, Arizona
Tier 3: New England, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Jacksonville, Tennessee, Kansas City, Philadelphia, Minnesota, New Orleans, Carolina, Los Angeles
Each team will put in a bid for when it wants to use a pick for a certain player without direct knowledge of when their pick is in each round. Formulas and rational will tell you when each team expects to be picking, especially if they had a worse winning percentage compared to others.
If a team in the third round puts in a bid for a certain player and their team is the first in that round to hit on the player, then they are awarded that player.
When a team uses a draft pick on a player, they will lose a pick from that same round in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Who is eligible
This year five players have been deemed eligible by the NFL after applications were successfully processed by the players. Each player has a circumstance that either prevented them from entering the 2018 NFL Draft or play in the 2018-19 college football season, whether it be academic ineligibility or a suspension.
Here are the five players with scouting reports hyperlinked to each name, where available:
Adonis Alexander, CB, Virginia Tech
Sam Beal, CB, Western Michigan
Brandon Bryant, DB, Mississippi State
Martayveus Carter, RB, Grand Valley State
Bright Ugwoegbu, LB, Oregon State
Beal and Alexander carried high grades entering the 2018 NFL Draft process but both returned to school before knowing they would be declared academically ineligible for the 2018 season.
When will players go?
Teams typically don’t use high draft picks in the NFL Supplemental Draft, but with talents such as Beal and Alexander, this year could be unique. The last time a player was taken in the second round was Josh Gordon in 2012 by the Cleveland Browns.
Isaiah Battle was the last player drafted in the NFL Supplemental Draft back in the fifth round of the 2015 draft by the St. Louis Rams. A first round pick hasn’t been used in the NFL Supplemental Draft since the New York Giants selected quarterback Dave Brown out of Duke in 1992.
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Sevearl teams have multiple day-two picks in the 2019 NFL Draft, meaning they could be more likely to take a chance on a supplemental draft player.
Philadelphia, New England, Kansas City, Indianapolis, and Houston each have two second round picks next year when the NFL Draft goes to Nashville.
Cleveland has an additional third round pick via New England after the Danny Shelton trade.
Beal and Alexander could go to any team in the top three rounds of the NFL Supplemental Draft, but teams with multiple picks in those rounds are more likely to take a chance.
Here are the remaining teams who currently have additional picks on day three of the 2019 NFL Draft:
Round 4: Buffalo
Round 5: Denver, Detroit
Round 6: Detroit
Round 7: Cleveland, San Francisco, Buffalo, Detroit, New York Jets, New England
Not every player in the NFL Supplemental Draft is guaranteed to be picked, but this year we could see the most action since 2010 when Josh Brent and Harvey Unga were drafted in the third and seventh rounds, respectively.
Most notable names in the NFL Supplemental Draft
Of the eight players drafted in the first round of the history of the NFL Supplemental Draft, only three have ever made a Pro Bowl. Perhaps the most notable first round pick to come out of the NFL Supplemental Draft is Brian Bosworth in 1987 out of Oklahoma, picked by the Seattle Seahawks.
Josh Gordon was a second round pick out of Baylor following his off the field issues and suspension.
Hall of Fame wide receiver Cris Carter is perhaps the most famous out of the 43 players who have been selected in the NFL Supplemental Draft. Philadelphia drafted Carter out of Ohio State in the fourth round in 1987 when he was suspended for signing with an agent while playing college football.
Just 8 of the 43 players selected in the NFL Supplemental Draft have been to a Pro Bowl: Bernie Kosar, Cris Carter, Bobby Humphrey, Rob Moore, Mike Wahle, Jamal Williams, Ahmad Brooks, and Josh Gordon.
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