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The NFL Supplemental Draft Is Tomorrow

Four guys you've never heard of that the Vikings probably won't use a pick on are eligible

Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

Tomorrow is the NFL's supplemental draft, which is juuuuuuuuuust a bit more toned down than the actual draft.

Why is that?

Well for one, there aren't nearly the amount of players eligible, and two, the players generally aren't considered top or elite prospects. They're also carrying some baggage with them from college to the NFL, like academic ineligibility, suspension, or something else that ran afoul that caused the player to lose his college eligibility.

There have been notable exceptions over the years, of course, but most of the guys taken in the supplemental draft had pedestrian NFL careers, if they even panned out at all..  According to the Wikis, there have been 42 players selected in the supplemental draft since it began in 1977, and of the 42, eight have gone on to at least one Pro Bowl. Only one, former Viking great Cris Carter, have made it all the way to Canton.  Some of the more famous (or infamous) supplemental draft picks have been:

Bernie Kosar, QB, Cleveland, 1985 1st round

Brian Bosworth, LB, Seattle, 1987 1st Round

Cris Carter, WR, Philadelphia, 1987 4th Round

Terrelle Pryor, QB, Oakland, 2011 3rd Round

Josh Gordon, WR, Cleveland, 2012 2nd round

The Vikings have drafted one player through the supplemental draft. In 1988, they used a 5th round selection for South Carolina WR Ryan Bethea. Near as I can tell, he never played a regular season down for the Vikes, as I cannot find him in any of the NFL databases I searched.

This year, the players that are eligible for the supplemental draft are:

Chase Clayton, WR, New Mexico

Darius Lipford, LB, North Carolina

Lakendrick Ross, DT, University of Virgina-Lynchburg

Traylon Shead, RB, SMU

The rules of the supplemental draft are pretty straightforward. If a team is interested in a player, they submit to the league office what round they would take that player. If there are multiple teams after one player, the team with the highest draft pick that has been submitted is awarded the player. If two teams submit a pick for a player that is in the same round, the team that drafted higher in the most recent draft is awarded the player. The team then forfeits that pick in next year's regular NFL draft.

I don't recall the Vikings showing interest in any of these players, but if you're interested to see where these players end up, if anywhere, you'll know tomorrow.