The NFL Supplemental Draft is today, and the Browns could make a bid

June and July are dead periods in the NFL offseason, and most of the time, the league’s supplemental draft that sneaks up out of no where ends up being uneventful.

Teams don’t utilize the draft very often. In 2011, a 3rd round pick was used on Terrelle Pryor by the Raiders. In 2012, the Browns used a 2nd round pick to get Josh Gordon. And then in 2015, the Rams used a 5th round pick to get Isaiah Battle. 2018 could be an eventful year for the draft, though, with the Cleveland Browns possibly getting involved early.

Eligible Players

As Barry Shuck highlighted a few weeks ago, there are three defensive backs in this year’s supplemental draft class, along with two other players:

• Adonis Alexander, DB, Virginia Tech
• Sam Beal, DB, Western Michigan
• Brandon Bryant, DB, Mississippi State
• Martayveus Carter, RB, Grand Valley State
• Bright Ugwoegbu, LB, Oregon State

SB Nation has more details on all of the players here.

Browns Appear Invested in Beal

The players with the best odds of being selected this year are Alexander and Beal, with Beal being the most highly-prized target. All 32 teams in the NFL went to Beal’s Pro Day on June 28, but the Browns were one of the few teams who had their general manager (John Dorsey) present.

Beal can compete for a starting spot immediately in the NFL, and the belief is that it will take at least a 3rd or 4th round pick to get him. Erik Galko of the Sporting News predicts the Browns will use a 3rd round pick on him.

How the Draft Works

The NFL Supplemental Draft begins at 1:00 PM ET. It is not televised, as it is conducted via email. The order of the “draft” is determined by splitting the league into three groups, based on their record. The Browns are in that first group of teams with six or fewer wins. The league then uses a random draw (kind of like the NBA lottery) to determine who picks in what order among that group. Because Cleveland finished 0-16, odds are that they would have close to the first dibs in each “round.”

The reason I quote the word “round” is because they don’t actually go through a round-by-round order. The Browns will simply submit a blind bid via email, if they are interested in placing a bid. If they wager a 4th round pick and won the lottery to have the best position in each round, then the NFL would check to make sure no other teams submitted a 3rd round bid.