The 2016 NFL Supplemental Draft is set to take place later this morning, scheduled to start shortly at 10:00 am Pacific time. The draft will not air on television, but instead involves a blind bid system using 2017 draft picks.
Very few players are picked in the supplemental draft, but it can happen from time-to-time. Last year, the then St. Louis Rams used a fifth round pick on Clemson offensive tackle Isaiah Battle. Prior to that, the last supplemental pick was Josh Gordon in 2012, on whom the Cleveland Browns used a 2013 second round pick.
Eligible players
There are six players available for selection in this year’s draft. Players must apply for eligibility because it requires they have not been eligible for the regular draft back in April. Participants in the supplemental draft have usually had some kind of off-field issue (legal, academic, family, etc). Here is the list of players eligible to be selected.
Ra’Zahn Howard, DT, Purdue
Rashaun Simonise, WR, University of Calgary
Tee Shepard, DB, Mississippi
Cameron Walton, DE, Concordia, Alabama
Eddie D’Antuono, LS, Virginia Tech
Jalen Overstreet, RB, Sam Houston State
Raiders history
The Raiders have selected five players in the supplemental draft. In 1973 they selected defensive end Blenda Gay in the first round out of Fayetteville State. In 1984, they took CFL and USFL players in the first three rounds. The first two rounds they selected Auburn wide receiver Chris Woods and Washington linebacker Stewart Hill from Edmonton of the CFL. In the third round they selected Clemson guard James Farr from Washington of the USFL. And as most of us remember, they took Ohio State quarterback* Terrelle Pryor in the third round in 2011.
Draft order
The NFL does not use the regular previous year record for the supplemental draft. Instead, the league uses a lottery to determine order. Teams are weighted based on record, similar to the NBA lottery, but they are broken down into three groups. The first tier is teams with six or fewer wins the previous season (including the 49ers). The second tier is teams with seven or more wins that didn't make the playoffs. The final tier is the 12 playoff teams.
Draft picks
The entire draft takes place via email. A team submits the player or players they want and the corresponding round in which they would take them. The team in the group with the highest round bid will be awarded the player. They would then lose their pick from that round in the next draft.
Scouting reports
Dan Kadar has a preview up at Mocking the Draft. Purdue defensive tackle Ra’Zahn Howard appears to be the most likely prospect to be drafted, though with the depth at tackle the Raiders have it seems unlikely they would use a pick on him.
I could see the Raiders showing interest in University of Calgary wide receiver Rashaun Simonise. He has great height at 6-5 which could be quite valuable for a Raiders team that could use some competition for Andre Holmes as well as more competition overall with all undrafted receivers outside of the starters.
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