Three players most likely to be picked in NFL Supplemental Draft
The NFL Supplemental Draft will take place on July 11 and while it’s not often that teams use picks on players, there are three such candidates that could be selected in this year’s draft. NFL Teams that select a player in the supplement draft must give up a pick in the 2019 draft that corresponds with the round a player is selected. With past supplemental draftees like Terrelle Pryor (2011) and Josh Gordon (2012) having varying degrees of success in the league, we decided to break down the three players most likely to get selected in this year’s draft.
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As a recruit: A two-star in the Class of 2015, Beal elected to stay close to home and committed to Western Michigan during the summer prior to his senior season.
In college: Beal played all over the field in high school, but moved to cornerback full time as a freshman in 2015. He saw some action, mostly as a reserve, and finished the year with 15 tackles. His career took off in 2016 during the Broncos undefeated regular season as he appeared in 14 games and recorded 55 tackles and eight pass deflections. Last season, he was limited to 10 games but still had two interceptions and 10 pass deflections to go with 22 tackles. Beal elected to leave school and enter the supplemental draft after running into academic issues in the spring.
Farrell’s take: Beal was a two-star athlete with one offer we know of out of high school despite having good size and athleticism. He played many positions in high school but was mainly a wide receiver, cornerback and return man and his flat out speed was questioned. Then head coach P.J. Fleck saw something in Beal that no one else did and now he’s a hot commodity in the Supplemental Draft.
As a recruit: A high three-star in the Class of 2014, Bryant was pretty quiet as a recruit a made a commitment to Mississippi State over Southern Miss near the end of his senior season.
In college: After redshirting in 2014, Bryant had his best year as a college player in 2015, recording 63 tackles and three interceptions along with 1.5 sacks and a defensive touchdown. He had another productive year in 2016, recording 63 tackles and three interceptions. But in 2017 he struggled with nagging injuries and finished with just 32 tackles and one interception. Bryant missed spring practice for academic reasons and elected to enter the supplemental draft late in the spring.
Farrell’s take: Despite just two in-state offers, we liked Bryant a lot and made him a high three-star because he had size, was filled out and liked to hit. He also had solid balls skills as well and solid instincts. It will be interesting to see who takes him because he does have some injury question marks and did miss the spring due to academics, but out of high school he was certainly a talented kid.
As a recruit: Alexander picked up a number of offers, but when Virginia Tech joined his list the Hokies quickly jumped to the front of the line. He committed after visiting campus during the summer prior to his senior season.
In college: Alexander quickly jumped into the mix upon arriving on campus and had 55 tackles and four interceptions as a true freshman. His stock continued to rise as a sophomore in 2016 as he had 43 tackles, seven pass deflections and two interceptions. After looking like a potential high draft pick, he took a step back in 2017, playing in just eight games and recording 27 tackles and one interception. Alexander was poised to return for his senior season but elected to leave school after being declared academically ineligible for the 2018 season.
Farrell’s take: Alexander was a tough one to rank and received a low three-star rating because he was such a tweener He has the size of a linebacker but could cover like a defensive back. Why is that a bad thing? It’s not, but there’s no way we could have projected him as a guy who could play corner and he wasn’t heavily recruited because of questions about his quickness. The off-field issues have been a problem but someone will draft him.
