The NFL elected not to organize a supplemental draft in 2024. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the league informed the teams about its decision on Wednesday.
The current CBA gives the NFL the right to decide whether or not to hold a supplemental draft in a given year. The supplemental draft serves as an opportunity for college players to get drafted in the league when they are not eligible for the regular draft for some reason.
The league last held a supplemental draft in 2023 after skipping it in each of the three previous years. The only players available were Jackson State wide receiver Malachi Wideman and Purdue wide receiver Milton Wright, but neither was picked. Wideman got his pro shot in XFL and is currently playing in the Canadian Football League, while Wright briefly spent time with the Los Angeles Chargers before ending his career.
The teams are usually hesitant to select players in the supplemental draft as they need to give up the same draft pick in next year’s regular draft.
For example, the Arizona Cardinals selected safety Jalen Thompson in the fifth round of the 2019 supplemental draft and gave up a fifth-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. But the move went well for the Cardinals, as Thompson became a starter for the team.
