NFL: Supplemental Draft Preview: Excitement at last!

The Supplemental Draft has increasingly become a marginal event in recent years – the last pick in the Supplemental Draft was 2015, which could change this year: two to three players have a serious chance of being selected in a few days. SPOX explains how the Supplemental Draft works and which prospects will actually bring it into the general interest this year.

The supplemental draft is not simply an alternative to the “normal” draft – it is more of an emergency alternative to give a player a chance at a football future.

Accordingly, there are limits to who is eligible for the Supplemental Draft: Whoever wants to join the Supplemental Draft must have been eligible to participate in the regular draft of the same year, but must not have registered there.

At the same time, after the regular draft, the player must be declared ineligible for the coming college season. This can have academic or disciplinary reasons. This does not automatically entitle you to participate in the Supplemental Draft: Every player who wants to go this way must submit an application.

Only if it is approved and declared eligible may it actually be selected in the Supplemental Draft. This always takes place between the regular draft and the start of the next season, this year the Supplemental Draft increases on July 11th at 7 pm German time.

However, this is not an event that can be equated with the draft in April. Instead, the teams of the league inform via e-mail which players they are interested in and the pick they are willing to give up for these players. If two teams “submit” a pick for one player in the same round, the position of the teams within the round determines who wins the contract.

To determine this position, the NFL uses a kind of lottery system, in a sense to determine the order of the supplemental drag in advance. Teams will be divided into three pots (six wins or less, the remaining non- playoff teams and the twelve playoff teams) and teams within the pots will be handicapped according to last year’s record, so that the worst teams will have the best chance in their lottery pot. Then the pots are drawn inside, for 2018 these look like this:

A team from pot 2 cannot receive any of the first eleven slots, while for the teams in pot 3 position 21 is the highest possible lot place.

The teams that are then awarded the contract for a player give up their pick in the regular drafts of the following year. This year, for example, if the packers offer a third round pick for a player in the supplemental draft and thus have the highest bid, the third round pick in the “normal” 2019 draft will be withdrawn from them in return.

Three defensive backs will be given serious chances of being selected in the upcoming Supplemental Draft – sometimes even with a high pick. SPOX introduces them:

Bright Ugwoegbu, LB, Oregon State

Martayveus Carter, RB, Grand Valley State

Several teams are still looking for cornerback, even after a draft that is quite solid here. The Indianapolis Colts are undoubtedly a candidate after Vontae Davis was handed over and then let go in the Free Agency Rashaan Melvin – outside Quincy Wilson the Cornerback Corps is marked by question marks, and Wilson himself is only in his second season after only five starts in 2017.

The Kansas City Chiefs might also be interested here. KC got Kendall Fuller in the course of the Alex Smith trade and should be very well positioned in the slot. After the departure of Marcus Peters, however, both outside-spots are at least open for discussion.

The situation at the Arizona Cardinals isn’t quite as drastic, but after the departure of Tramon Williams, Arizona is once again looking for a number two over Patrick Peterson. Brandon Williams, Christian Campbell, Jamar Taylor – there are options, but certainly no player who has the second outside-spot in any way secure.