NFL Supplemental Draft coming soon

The NFL's Supplemental Draft is Thursday July 9th. The Supplemental Draft is for the players that were not eligible for the regular NFL Draft. Usually these players have some type of character flaw that has kept them from fulfilling the few requirements that are needed in order to be a regular drafted player.

You might remember the Ravens dipping into the Supplemental Draft a few years ago. Selecting left tackle Jared Gaither in the fifth round of the 2007 Supplemental Draft, Gaither stuck around for 3 seasons only to be a member o the Kansas City Chiefs and San Diego Chargers. Academic problems kept Gaither from being able to play during the 2007 season and eventually forced him out of the regular Draft because of it. Gaither was a solid player for the Ravens, but had numerous problems, mostly involving his work ethic.

Now that isn't to say that good players don't get grabbed in the Supplemental Draft, because they absolutely do. Players like quarterback Bernie Kosar, wide receiver Cris Carter, and even wide receiver Josh Gordon have all been Supplemental Draft picks. This year, there are four prospects available for teams to select. Defensive tackle Dalvon Stuckey, defensive end Darrius Caldwell, wide receiver Adrian Wilkins, and the top prospect, offensive tackle Isaiah Battle.

The Supplemental Draft allows teams to take player with questions surrounding them at a cheaper price. The selection does not affect the current draft picks as the team will forfeit whatever round pick they spent in the 2016 NFL Draft instead. Meaning that if the Ravens were to select a player in the third-round, they would lose a 2016 third-round pick. The order is chosen via lottery style where the team with the worst record gets 32 chances to be selected with the best team getting only 1. The teams then put in requests much like the waiver wire where they write down the player they would like and with what round and the team that picks highest gets the player.

The last player to be selected was wide receiver Josh Gordon to the Cleveland Browns with their second-round pick. Gordon has been famous for being a huge playmaker and also for being suspended more than he plays. Mostly due to off-field issues surrounding marijuana, Gordon is a cautionary tale to most NFL teams to stay away from players with checkered pasts and baggage. However, the cheap talent available is sometimes too hard for teams to pass up.