NFL rumors: Sam Beal expected to go in 3rd round in supplemental draft
By Matt Conner
The Chiefs are going to likely have to pony up a Day 2 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft if they want a chance to grab Sam Beal in the supplemental draft.
The hottest stock in the 2018 NFL Supplemental Draft class comes from the Mid-American Conference in Western Michigan cornerback Sam Beal. And after years of no single NFL team selecting a player year after year since 2015, Beal is expected to lure some teams into giving up a Day 2 pick in the upcoming 2019 NFL Draft.
Beal is a junior defender who is ineligible to play his senior year due to academic reasons (not enough credits earned in previous years in school), which means his only road to the pros is now through the mid-summer event. He recently ran the 40-yard dash at a special pro day in Michigan with times of 4.40 seconds (with the wind) and 4.51 seconds (against the wind) and put up solid numbers in the vertical leap (37 inches) as well.
There were 50 scouts or representatives on hand at WMU last week for Beal’s pro day, and every NFL franchise had at least one person in attendance. It’s easy to see that the competition for Beal will be fierce, and teams are now sending out significant smokescreens to various NFL analysts to force other teams to give up higher draft picks—or perhaps they just really all love Beal that much and are willing to let something actually slip of importance. Gil Brandt has the latest on Beal’s draft stock:
One team told me they viewed Beal as 2nd-round pick had he been in 2018 draft, but that round likely to be lower in sup draft. Keep eye on teams with extra picks in Rounds 3-4 next year, including Browns (Round 3) and Bills (4). https://t.co/9OOBymQvDE
— Gil Brandt (@Gil_Brandt) June 28, 2018
Beal came in very slight at the recent pro day at 178 pounds which means any NFL team will want him to bulk up significantly. By comparison, any Chiefs cornerback expected to earn major playing time would outweigh that total by about 20 pounds.
As for the Chiefs, they clearly are interested enough to at least kick the tires and be present at his pro day. However, Brett Veach has failed to act as interested in bringing in cornerback help as most NFL analysts and fans would have expected this offseason. The Chiefs were expected to bolster the position in free agency and in the draft, but David Amerson on a one-year deal and Tremon Smith in the sixth are both low-level efforts to aid the position (compared to paying through the nose at linebacker and wide receiver).
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However, they lack anything in 2019 at the position beyond Kendall Fuller, Leon McQuay and Smith, so adding a player with such significant upside like Beal could make sense as a mid-summer acquisition who could take his time to learn and prepare for meaningful playing time beyond this year.