NFL Informs Teams The Supplemental Draft Has Been Canceled Again This Season

The NFL has informed teams that this year's supplemental draft is canceled. Here is a brief history of the event.

NFL shield logo / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

As first revealed by NFL reporter Albert Breer, the NFL has informed it's 32 teams that the league will be canceling their 2024 Supplemental Draft. This is the fourth time in the last five years that the league has elected not to hold the event.

Last offseason was the only time that the NFL has held their supplemental draft since 2019. Two players were eligible to be picked in last year's event, with neither selected in the draft's seven rounds. Former Washington State safety Jalen Thompson was the last player selected in the supplemental draft, going to the Arizona Cardinals in 2019.

The Supplemental Draft was originally put in place by the NFL in 1977. It was used for collegiate players to enter the league that were not eligible for the regular draft for various reasons.

If an NFL team used a draft choice in the supplemental draft, they would forfeit the corresponding choice in the round that they selected that player in the following year's standard draft. For example, the Cardinals used a fifth-round pick on Jalen Thompson in the 2019 Supplemental Draft. As a result, Arizona gave up their fifth-round selection in the standard draft the next season.

Former New Orleans Saints quarterback Dave Wilson (18) / crescentcitysports.com

Several accomplished NFL players have entered the league as supplemental picks. Quarterback Bernie Kosar (1985), Hall of Fame WR Cris Carter (1987), LB Brian Bosworth (1987), RB Bobby Humphrey (1989), QB Steve Walsh (1989), WR Rob Moore (1990), LB Ahmad Brooks (2006), QB Terrelle Pryor (2011), and WR Josh Gordon (2012) are the top examples.

The New Orleans Saints have used the traditional supplemental draft just once in their franchise history. In 1981, the Saints used a first-round pick on QB Dave Wilson out of Illinois.

Wilson played seven NFL seasons, all with New Orleans. He was mostly a backup but went 12-19 as a starter while completing 53% of his throws for 6,987 yards with 36 touchdowns and 55 interceptions between 1981 and 1988.

In 1984, the NFL held a special supplemental draft for all college seniors that had already signed with USFL or CFL teams. That draft gave the Saints the rights to LB Vaughan Johnson and kick return specialist Mel Gray. The folding of the USFL in 1985 brought both those players to New Orleans, along with free agents like coach Jim Mora, LB Sam Mills, and QB Bobby Hebert.