The NFL Supplemental Draft is returning in 2023, with the National Football League bringing back its summer draft for the first time since 2019.
As first reported by Dane Brugler of The Athletic, the NFL made the decision to bring back the supplemental draft this year. It will be the first time the virtual draft has been held since 2019.
- 2023 NFL Supplemental Draft date: July 11
The NFL first implemented the supplemental draft in 1977, providing players with an opportunity to enter the league when specific circumstances impacted their collegiate eligibility and they had not previously entered the NFL Draft.
The last time the NFL Supplemental Draft was held, the Arizona Cardinals selected Jalen Thompson in the fifth round. The former Washington State safety was declared ineligible by the NCAA for the 2019 season, allowing him to enter the NFL through the supplemental draft.
Thomas is the only player taken in the NFL Supplemental Draft since 2015 to remain in the league. Sam Beal (2018, third round), Adonis Alexander (2018, third round) and Isaiah Battle (2015, fifth round) all lasted fewer than four seasons in the league.
The NFL Supplemental Draft order is created by teams separated into three groups based on the previous season. It breaks down into the teams who won six or fewer games, a second group of non-playoff teams with more than six wins and the third group is composed of playoff teams. Then, the league uses a weighted lottery to determine the draft order.
Teams then submit blind bids for players. NFL clubs will submit what pick they are willing to use on a player eligible for a supplemental draft. If a team bids a fourth-round pick and it’s the only team to bid, it is awarded the player and loses a 2024 fourth-round pick.
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In the event of a tiebreaker, the player is then awarded based on the results of the weighted lottery. Whatever round a team bets on a player they are awarded, they lose that pick in the following NFL Draft.
There have been eight instances of a team spending a first-round pick in the NFL Supplemental Draft, most recently in 1992 (quarterback Dave Brown, New York Giants). Some of the most well-known players taken in the supplemental draft are Josh Gordon, Terrelle Pryor, Ahmad Brooks, Cris Carter and Bernie Kosar.