Most sports fans are aware of the NBA, and NHL draft lotteries, and maybe even MLB’s Competitive Balance Lottery, but not everyone is as familiar with the NFL’s draft oddity, the Supplemental Draft.
The 2015 Supplemental Draft will take place Thursday July 9 at 11 a.m. MDT and just before then will be the lottery, determining which teams will choose first of the seven eligible players.
Like the NBA and NHL, the NFL supplemental draft lottery is weighted so that worse teams get a better chance of having the highest picks in three drawings. The first drawing will feature the 10 teams that won six or fewer games last season. The second, teams that won seven or more games but did not make the playoffs. Lastly, the third drawing is for the 12 playoff teams who can only have their names drawn just once.
The team with the fewest wins from the previous season has the opportunity of having their name drawn the most. For example, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2014 tied with the Tennessee Titans with a league-low two wins. Both teams would have their names put in 32 times, while Oakland and Jacksonville who had the next league low of three wins would have their names put in 31 times and so on.
Just as the normal NFL draft, the supplemental will have seven rounds. If a team opts to select a player, it will lose the corresponding pick in next year’s draft. Typically, the supplemental draft accommodates players who were ineligible for the primary NFL Draft in April. This could be due to missing the filing deadline, academic issues or even disciplinary matters.
You won’t see this draft broadcast on NFL Network, nor will you see top League analysis like Mel Kiper Jr. and Mike Mayock supplying weeks of pre-draft mocks. But fans will see NFL.com’s Henry Hodgson, who has covered the event for years now.
In Hodgson’s mock supplemental draft, he has Clemson offensive tackle Isaiah Battle going first to the Buccaneers in the fourth round with the remaining six players not being picked up.
After the loss of Ryan Clady and being noticeably thin across the offensive line, there’s a small chance the Broncos could try and grab Battle before someone else has a chance to claim him. According to NFL.com, 25 teams were on hand for his recent pro day workout.
Many times, no players are chosen in the Supplemental Draft at all, but Battle is said to be the first prospect to be drafted since the Cleveland Browns selected wideout Josh Gordon in the second round in 2012.
Back in 1989, the Denver Broncos selected Alabama running back Bobby Humphrey in the first round of the supplemental draft. He rushed for 1,151 yards and seven touchdowns his rookie season and helped John Elway and the Broncos reach Super Bowl XXIV where they would lose to the 49ers, 55-10. Humphrey was runner-up for Rookie of the Year that season, losing to a 1,470-yard effort by Barry Sanders. He was traded to Miami in 1991 where Humphrey’s career would end just two years later.
Other notable players selected in the supplemental draft include Bernie Kosar (1985), Steve Walsh (1989) and Cris Carter (1987). There is talent to be found in this mid-summer draft. The question remains, whether or not teams will take a chance on them.
Here is the list of prospects in Thursday supplemental draft:
Isaiah Battle, OT, Clemson
Darius Caldwell, DE, West Georgia
Eric Eiland, DE, Houston
Sean McQuillan, TE, UConn
Kevin Short, DB, Kansas
Dalvon Stuckey, DT, West Georgia
Adrian Wilkins, WR, North Carolina Central
Mike Tolbert, a Mile High Sports intern and MSU-Denver student, contributed to this report