For the second summer in a row, the National Football League has made the decision to cancel the (used to be) annual supplemental draft, per NFL reporter Tom Pelissero.
Every year, college players who were ruled ineligible to return to school for the fall campaign for various reasons (academics, legal issues) are allowed to enter the NFL through a supplemental player draft held in July. In order to draft a player, a team must submit the round in which they want to select a specific player to the league office. Then using the turn order from the first-year player draft held that previous April, the league awards the player to the winning team who submitted the earliest round (and/or was first in the draft order).
The supplemental draft is a pretty rare way to enter the league, so it’s not surprising to see a collective yawn around its cancellation for the second year in a row. However, it’s also important to remember that solid players can be found anywhere, and the supplemental draft has certainly yielded very good players from years past—from quarterback Bernie Kosar to wide receiver Cris Carter.
Back in 1992, the K.C. Chiefs won their only player in the supplemental draft when they submitted a second round pick for defensive tackle Darren Mickell. The results weren’t all that great for the Chiefs as Mickell would only last through his rookie deal and make 19 starts for the Chiefs front line before departing for the New Orleans Saints. That said, Mickell did play nine years in the NFL, which is a nice achievement for any supplemental draft prospect.
Perhaps with another year to deal with COVID protocols and for the world to get back to “normal,” the league will resurrect the supplemental draft in 2022 after a two-year absence.