The NFL Supplemental Draft

Since 1977, the NFL has held an annual supplemental draft, which falls between the regular draft and opening of training camp. For those that don't understand the way it works, it is very simple. Any player that did not declare for the regular draft by the deadline, but is either deemed ineligible for the upcoming college season, kicked off the team, or has any other extenuating circumstance, can enter the supplemental draft. The draft order is the same as it was for the regular draft, with a slight hitch. Teams can opt to skip their pick until they feel justified in giving up the next year's pick in the same round. For example, if there is one player in the supplemental draft, and no team deems him worthy to be taken in the first round, every team will pass on the player. In the second round, if a team was to take the player, they would forfeit their regular second round draft pick the next year. When it comes down to it, taking a player with any pick in the top four rounds is essentially a high-risk, low-reward gamble, as history would argue.
In the 34 years of the supplemental draft's existence, only eight players have been taken with a first round pick. To see the complete list, click here. There are quite a few years where no players were taken, whether it was due to no one entering, or no one worth taking in the opinion of the NFL teams. There have been a few players that turned into NFL regulars, a scattering of Super Bowl Champions (Bernie Kosar), and a probable future Hall of Famer in WR Cris Carter. But not since the Packers took Mike Wahle in 1998 has there been a supplemental draft pick that made a Pro Bowl. In fact, between the 40 total players taken in the history of the draft, they have a combined 16 Pro Bowl appearances, 8 of which from Cris Carter and 3 from Jamaal Williams of the Chargers.
Most of the time, supplemental draft prospects go unnoticed, except when they are in the headlines for getting booted from school for shooting a hooker or failing. But its not often a player with the noteriaty of former Ohio State QB Terrelle Pryor's caliber finds themselves in the supplemental draft. Pryor was recruited by tons of major Division I football programs coming out of high school, and opted to attend Ohio State. In three years as the starting QB, Pryor was electric, throwing for 6177 yards and 57 touchdowns, while gaining 2164 yards and 17 touchdowns on the ground. He won plenty of awards, including the 2010 MVP of the Rose Bowl, and promptly declared to play his senior season, even with a 6 game suspension stemming from receiving illegal benefits. But after Jim Tressel resigned, Pryor was quick to change his mind, and would enter the supplemental draft. Pryor, along with his teammates, took cars, money, tattoos, and other goods illegally according to NCAA regulations, and cast a dark cloud over a once proud OSU football program, and the highly regarded Tressel's career. Pryor led the way, allegedly collecting over $40,000 for signing autographs.
Pryor's attitude and demeanor can be summed up by a statement made by ESPN analyst Chris Spielman, before Pryor opted to fore-go his senior season;

"I think he’s played his last game … I don’t know if you guys have heard this. I’ve heard through players, former players, that TP (Terrelle Pryor) operated and was allowed to operate by his own set of rules. Being late to meetings. Being late to practice. Not showing up for workouts. I don’t know if that’s true or not true. If it is I’m so disappointed in the leaders of the team that allowed that to go on, that allowed a player, not to show up without either confrontation, physical or verbal first, physical if necessary.
If the coach or coaches would not back you up in allowing this behavior to go on and him operating by his own set of rules then that is the coaches responsibility, so if he is allowed to continue and if I made that decision that yes he should be allowed to come back after five games it would be under a zero tolerance policy. That would mean if he was two seconds late for a meeting bye, bye. That’s how I would operate.”

There is no doubt Pryor is a freakish athlete. At 6'6, 230+ pounds, he has excellent QB size, and runs a Mike Vick-like 4.33 40-yard dash. He also has excellent arm strength, but the rest of his QB intangibles are borderline. He has turned into a Pat White-type projection, with some teams considering using him as a WR or specialty type back. In the end, a team will take a chance on him in the second or third round, and he will spend the season on the bench as the "QB of the future". There are plenty of teams with QB needs, such as Seattle, Oakland, Cincinnati, and Minnesota, and one of them will add Pryor to their collection of sub-par talent. His college stats and skill set compares to former D1 superstars like Nebraska's Jamaal Lord and Eric Crouch, Texas' Vince Young, Florida State's Charlie Ward, and LSU's Jamarcus Russell. The most common trait among those QB's? Zero NFL success. If I were an NFL owner, GM, head coach, or anyone in a position of power, I would forbid my team from taking a chance on Pryor. He helped destroy one of the proudest football traditions in the country, and obviously puts his own leisure ahead of the conformity of the team. He will surely become the most hated newcomer on the team that selects him, by veterans and opposition alike. Pryor will be an interception machine in the NFL, and will have to settle for a career in the CFL or UFL within the next few years. The only fan of Pryor (aside from himself) is Cam Newton, because Pryor actually makes Newton look like a good guy.