Explaining the Supplemental NFL draft, plus offseason workout takeaways

IRVING, UNITED STATES: Cris Carter of the Minnesota Vikings (80) runs away from Dallas Cowboys defenders Darren Woodson (28) and Kenny Wheaton (30) en route to a 54 yard touchdown reception during the first quarter of action at Texas Stadium in Irving, TX, 26 November. (PAUL BUCK/AFP via Getty Images) PAUL BUCK

Yes, the cover photo is of the Hall of Famer Cris Carter. He finished his career behind only Jerry Rice in touchdown receptions (129) and total catches (1,101). Despite retiring nearly 25 years ago, Carter still ranks near the top of both categories among receivers:

Before all that, Carter was a fourth-round supplemental draft pick. (By the Eagles!) Intending to play his senior year at Ohio State, he instead entered the 1987 supplemental draft after the NCAA ruled him ineligible due to … ready for it? … prematurely signing with an agent. The horror!

(Side note: The NCAA pushing this type of activity underground actually created a horrible situation involving both the mob and FBI. Bleacher Report has a good story on the saga here.)

Carter was drafted in September 1987, during the second (of three) supplemental drafts held that year.

Inside: How (and why) the supplemental draft works, plus what we’ve learned from early offseason workouts. If you missed Thursday’s newsletter, we had a fun look at the best/worst jerseys for all 32 teams. Let’s roll.

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Supplemental draft, explained

Since the supplemental draft is so infrequent, it remains a poorly understood part of the NFL rulebook. Here’s what you should know about it:

1. The league’s collective bargaining agreement mandates that college prospects who do not enter the NFL via the draft can apply for selection in a supplemental draft (though there must be a reason, as players can’t just decide to skip the April version).

2. If no one applies for the supplemental draft, it doesn’t happen that year. It also doesn’t happen if teams are uninterested in the applicants. Sorry to any readers hoping to throw their names into the hat.

3. Similar to the regular draft, the selection order is essentially the reverse of the previous season’s standings (more detail here), but there’s a big twist: Instead of actually drafting players, teams bid on them. Simpler process when there’s only one guy up for grabs.

4. Teams bid with their picks from the following year’s draft. Once a team drafts a player in the supplemental draft, it forfeits that pick in the subsequent April. At stake this year are those especially valuable 2027 picks.

This time, Brendan Sorsby hoped to be the first supplemental draft pick since 2019. The six supplemental picks preceding him:

Browns coach Todd Monken said he doesn’t believe his team was willing to “go down that road” of drafting Sorsby, and I’m sure many other teams felt similarly. (Then again, Shedeur Sanders wasn’t exactly Plan A for Cleveland.)

What we’re learning

It’s too early to tell if the Vikings’ quarterback battle will matter for 2026. But I’m not impressed by excuses I’ve heard from Kyler Murray, who Alec Lewis has said “looked uncomfortable at times.”

“Me already being behind and not getting the reps that you would typically want a guy to get, learning an offense, is probably the toughest part,” Murray has said. It should only be a matter of time before the Vikings’ prized free-agent signing wins out over J.J. McCarthy.

As for other offseason workout takeaways:

Buffalo’s new 36-year-old head coach, Joe Brady, wants to be a players’ coach. His players are raving about how much they’re enjoying what staffers have called “a breath of fresh air.”

Chicago is focused on improving Caleb Williams’ precision (and thus his completion percentage, which ranked 32nd in 2025). Ben Johnson and staff are grading the location of nearly all of Williams’ workout throws.

Dallas has a defense? Jon Machota would be “surprised if (new DC) Christian Parker didn’t have success” in his first year, given how prepared he is and how well the team is responding so far. The league’s second-best offense in 2025 just needs an average defense for a bounce-back year from last year’s 7-9-1 finish.