The NFL’s Supplemental Draft is back for the first time since 2019 after the league granted eligibility for Purdue receiver Milton Wright. In 2021, he caught 57 passes for 732 yards and seven touchdowns for the Boilermakers.
Wright was ruled academically ineligible for the 2022 college football season and left Purdue last May.
The Supplemental Draft is for draft-eligible players who didn’t enter the selection process but cannot return to college football the same year.
There have been 46 players selected in the National Football League supplemental draft since its inception in 1977.
The supplemental draft was created in 1977 for players whose circumstances affected their eligibility and who did not enter the NFL draft during the spring.
Three players in the 1984 supplemental draft entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Steve Young, Gary Zimmerman, and Reggie White.
When
The NFL Supplemental Draft is scheduled for July 11.
Draft order
The draft order for the supplemental draft is determined via a lottery system based on the previous season’s win-loss records.
The draft order is divided into three groups:
- Teams with six or fewer wins
The rest of the non-playoff teams
The 14 playoff teams.
The order of each group is randomly selected.
If a team is interested in drafting a prospect, they place a bid on that player in a particular round. If multiple teams submit offers on a player in the same round, the team picking first in the order is awarded the player.
Once a team drafts a player in the supplemental draft, it must forfeit its pick in that round in the following NFL Draft.
The latest example was in 2019 when the Cardinals selected defensive back Jalen Thompson, with a fifth-round pick in the Supplemental Draft. They forfeited a fifth-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
1986: Charles Crawford, RB, Oklahoma State
Crawford missed his senior year with an injury and declared for the supplemental draft amid questions about whether his eligibility would be extended.
In today’s climate, Crawford would have received a medical redshirt status.
1987: Cris Carter, WR, Ohio State
The most successful supplemental pick in league history, Carter was suspended before his senior season for signing with an agent.
With the Eagles, Carter was up and down, with formrer head coach Buddy Ryan coining the phrase: “All he does is catch touchdowns.”
Carter was cut by Philadelphia in 1989 due to off-the-field issues.
Carter was signed by the Vikings and became a three time All-Pro and eight time Pro Bowler.
1984: Reggie White , DE, USFL
A unanimous All-American at Tennessee, White spent two seasons playing for the Memphis Showboats of the United States Football League (USFL) before he was selected in the first round of the 1984 Supplemental Draft.
A key cog on Buddy Ryan’s famous Eagles defenses, White played 15 NFL seasons for Philadelphia, Green Bay, and Carolina, becoming one of the greatest defensive players in NFL history.
White passed away on December 26, 2004, at 43.
1984: Daryl Goodlow, LB, Oklahoma Outlaws
Originally selected by the Eagles in the 2nd round of the 1984 NFL Supplemental Draft involving CFL and USFL players, Goodlow played in two games for the Raiders in 1987.
1984: Thomas Carter, LB, Oakland Invaders
