3 best NFL Supplemental Draft picks in league history
There will be no NFL Supplemental Draft in 2022, but there have been some really good picks throughout history. We rank the top 3.
Sometimes, top college prospects that did not declare themselves eligible for the regular NFL Draft find themselves in a sticky situation between April and September when the Draft happens and the next college season begins.
Some players are dismissed from their college teams. Some have other eligibility issues. Some simply have missed the deadline to declare in the past.
Whatever reasons led them to the NFL Supplemental Draft, there are reasons for its existence.
Though the NFL isn’t required to hold a supplemental draft every year, they typically take it on a case-by-case basis if there are certain players that fit the criteria of eligibility.
Teams that spend picks in the NFL Supplemental Draft then forfeit that pick in the next regular draft.
For instance, spending a first-round pick on a player in the Supplemental Draft means you would not have that first-round pick in the following Draft.
Who are some of the best players ever taken in the NFL supplemental draft?
Best NFL Supplemental Draft pick no. 3: Jamal Williams, DT, Chargers
player. Pick Analysis. DL. Jamal Williams. 3. 13. Scouting Report. Chargers
One of the best players ever taken in the Supplemental Draft (here is a history of players selected) is San Diego Chargers defensive lineman Jamal Williams.
Williams was a second-round pick in the 1998 Supplemental Draft out of Oklahoma State, and he wound up playing 13 years in the NFL, including one season with the Denver Broncos, which feels bizarre in hindsight.
A three-time Pro Bowl selection and two-time All-Pro, there was once a time when you simply did not run against Jamal Williams.
At 6-foot-3, 348 pounds, Williams was an absolute mammoth of a nose tackle and the ideal base nose tackle for a 3-4 defensive alignment.
Before NFL teams started playing primarily nickel defense, a player like Williams was extremely valuable because he could clog the run as teams prioritized their running game in the 2000s.
Williams was an anchor for the Chargers during some of the franchise’s best years and although he only had 13 career sacks, he had 55 career tackles for loss and 443 total tackles.