Supplementing The List Of Draft Busts

This Thursday is July 12th, a date we're sure you've been waiting for with breath baited like a fish hook. The NFL Supplemental Draft is upon us and the annual event for players who lost their collegiate eligibility is as fraught with excitement as ever. Len Pasquarelli of ESPN has the list of players who have thrown their hat into the ring.

The list of mostly suspect prospects includes defensive tackle Robert Armstrong (Morgan State), defensive tackle Clifton Dickson (Florida State), offensive tackle Jared Gaither (Maryland), cornerback RoShawn Marshall (Central Missouri), cornerback Donta Moore (Connecticut), cornerback Paul Oliver (Georgia), offensive tackle Chris Patrick (Nebraska), defensive tackle Brian Soi (Utah State), offensive tackle Aaron Turner (East Central Oklahoma), and linebacker Mark Washington (Texas State-San Marcos).

Gaither, Oliver and Patrick are likely to be selected according to Pasquarelli but history says that teams would be better off skipping the event and keeping their picks for next year's regular draft. If you select someone in the supplemental draft you forfeit your pick in that round next April and while you get first crack at a talented player like Gaither you're also taking a risk by selecting a player with baggage. Gaither, for example, was deemed academically ineligible as was Oliver. Taking a player who couldn't even stay on the field in college doesn't bode all that well for their professional future. Take a look at the history of the draft and you'll find a lot more toads than princes in disguise.

• In 2005 the Dolphins spent a fifth-rounder on Manny Wright of USC. The defensive tackle broke down in tears during his first practice after being ridiculed by Nick Saban for showing up in horrendous physical condition.
• In 2003 the Texans used a second-round pick on Tony Hollings of Georgia Tech. If they had waited until the regular draft they could have used the pick on Julius Jones of Dallas. Hollings has run for 149 yards in his career and is no longer with the team while Jones has 2896 yards and 16 touchdowns.
• Dallas made the same mistake in 1995 when they tabbed Darren Benson of Trinity Valley Community College with a third-round pick. The defensive end played in 12 games for the 'Boys while guys like Tedy Bruschi and Terrell Owens have been a bit more successful after going in the same round in 1996. They could have had another Terrell, Davis this time, if they hadn't taken tight end John Davis in the 1994 supplemental session.
• Just mention Dave Brown to a Giants fan and you'll get a quick response to how well taking him with what would have been the ninth overall selection in 1993 turned out. Remember to duck when you do the mentioning and don't mention the names of Lincoln Kennedy or Jerome Bettis.
• Dallas pops up again with one of the odder picks in the history of any draft. Jimmy Johnson had taken Troy Aikman with the first overall pick in the 1989 draft but still used a first-rounder to take his former college QB Steve Walsh when the summer's supplemental draft came around. Walsh never beat out Aikman and had an indistinguished career. The pick ended up as the first overall pick the next April and we wonder how many Super Bowls they would have won in Dallas with Cortez Kennedy or Junior Seau on the defense.
• Arizona can ask themselves the same questions about Richmond Webb and others because of their 1989 blunder. Timm Rosenbach had one too many m's in his name and not nearly enough game to warrant the sixth overall pick they lost for taking him.
• You can't really blame the Seahawks for spending a premium pick on Brian Bosworth in 1987. He had developed a can't-miss reputation while playing for Barry Switzer at Oklahoma and the NFL has never been a league that frowned upon a little steroid use, the reason why Boz was kicked off the Sooners, as Shawne Merriman and Luis Castillo can attest. He did miss, though, and Seattle missed out on Chris Spielman and others because of their choice. If they were hellbent on using a supplemental choice they would have been wiser to do what Philly did when they used a fourth-rounder on Hall of Fame wideout Cris Carter.
• The Eagles didn't always have such good luck. They used a seventh rounder the previous year on running back Charles Crawford of Oklahoma. Quite a clean program Switzer was running, eh? Crawford flopped while traditional seventh rounders Harry Swayne, Kevin Gogan, Frank Winters and Howard Ballard all had productive careers as offensive linemen.
• In 1981 the Saints took Dave Wilson of Illinois in the first round. They ended up getting 55 interceptions and 25 fumbles with the third overall pick when they could have had Jim McMahon or Marcus Allen among other players who didn't suck.

And those were the guys that made the league. Nine of the 35 players picked in the supplemental draft never even played in the NFL. There were some smart choices in the mix. Carter is probably the best of them while Bernie Kosar would have gone higher than the 16th spot in 1986 if Cleveland hadn't gotten him in the supplemental draft. The Broncos took Bobby Humphery in 1989 and got a couple of good seasons before he imploded and 1990 selectee Rob Moore was an okay player for the Jets, though not as good as Herman Moore who they could have gotten with the seventh overall pick in 1991. 1999 saw two good players, Panthers guard Mike Wahle, picked by Green Bay, and San Diego defensive tackle Jamal Williams, go in the second round of the supplemental draft and last year the Bengals took troubled linebacker Ahmad Brooks to back up troubled linebacker Odell Thurman. He had a decent rookie year and should be a starter this fall.

More often than not, though, the players who entered the supplemental draft because of red flags in college had earned them and didn't do much to change their ways as professionals. It seems like a better bet to choose among many players that you've spent all season scouting than trying to get lucky in the summer with a player who might be talented but lacking the other assets that make for a successful NFL player.

Comments

[goathair]

If a team makes a choice (and therefore forfeits their pick in the draft), what happens to the pick that is forfeited?

[TheFeed]

When a team gives up its pick, everyone else just moves up a slot. Nine becomes eight, ten becomes nine and so forth.

[mymindsblank]

i think that ahmad brooks could end up being pretty good, the bengals only gave a 3rd round pick for him, he supposedly has 1st round talent, but so did akili smith, david klingler, peter warrick, kijana carter just to name a few

[Corey]

Walsh wasn't a total waste for the Cowboys, I believe we swindled several draft picks from the Saints for him in 1990. Can't remember who we got from those picks, but Jimmy and Jerry were pretty right on with most of those early picks.