NFL's Canceled Supplemental Draft Not a Big Blow for Raiders

There was a time when certain players needed an opportunity to be drafted into the league due to ineligibility for some reason at the time of the NFL Draft. Usually, it was because players had graduated or used up all of their eligibility for one reason or another. In some instances, it was due to a technicality. If a team were to select a player in the Supplemental Draft, they would forfeit that very pick in the next year's draft. This alternate draft had rounds all the same. So, essentially, it was like trading away a pick, but back to the NFL.

The first ever Supplemental Draft saw the Seattle Seahawks spend a fourth-rounder on suspended Notre Dame running back Al Hunter. Although a majority of the players taken in this process had unexceptional careers, there have been some major names chosen over the years. The list includes Cleveland's Bernie Kosar, Seattle's Brian Bosworth and Hall of Famer Chris Carter by Philadelphia in 1987, Bobby Humphrey, Rob Moore, Mike Wahle, Jamal Williams, Ahmad Brooks and Josh Gordon.

In 1993, Commissioner Paul Tagliabue opened it up to allow individuals facing disciplinary action or already suspended players to petition for entry into the league's selection process. However, teams have only taken advantage of this tool 46 times since it's inception.

The Raiders have only picked from the pool once when Al Davis, his last ever draft decision, used a third-round pick on Quarterback Terrelle Pryor out of Ohio State in 2011. Pryor was suspended as part of a NCAA investigation into improper benefits for accepting free tattoos, and the NFL levied a five-game ban on the athletic marvel upon entering the league. Pryor's career in Oakland was marginal and lasted only two seasons until he was traded to Arizona after the 2013 season.

No player has taken that route to the NFL since Washington State's Jalen Thompson was nabbed by Arizona in 2019. With that being a stark example of lack of use, and the emergence of NIL and the Transfer Portal, it's of no wonder that the Supplemental Draft is fading off into oblivion.