The NFL supplemental draft is reportedly back, and we even have a date. The 2023 NFL supplemental draft will take place on Tuesday, July 11, according to The Athletic. Players will have to apply with the league office to become eligible.
The supplemental draft has been on hiatus, with the last event being held in 2019. Players are not always selected during this special draft, but talent can be available. Take former Purdue wideout Milton Wright for example. He was ruled academically ineligible for the 2022 college football season, and left the program last May. In 2021, he caught 57 passes for 732 yards and seven touchdowns. Per NFL Media, Wright is eligible.
Let's take a look at what the NFL supplemental draft is.
What's the point of it?
It accommodates players in unique situations, most commonly being a collegiate player getting ruled ineligible for the upcoming season after the regular (April) draft, which, without the supplemental draft, would leave him in limbo for an entire year. If a player wants to be included in the supplemental draft, he files a formal petition to the league. It's not guaranteed that every applying player is admitted. Of course, players need to be at least three years removed from high school to be eligible for the supplemental draft.
How does it work?
The supplemental draft order is different from the regular draft order. Teams are separated into three groups based on the previous season; the first group is non-playoff teams that had six or fewer wins. The second group is non-playoff teams with more than six wins. And the final group is playoff teams. The order in those groups is determined by a weighted lottery, with the teams with the fewest wins given the best chance to win the earliest picks. Bids for players are submitted blindly by teams with the round that team would want to select a given player. The team highest in the draft order who submits the earliest-round bid for a player will be awarded that player. When that happens, that club forfeits a pick in the same round of the next year's regular draft.
