The NFL's supplemental draft returned on Tuesday for the first time since 2019, but no players were selected this year, per NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero.
Two prospects -- former Jackson State wide receiver Malachi Wideman and former Purdue wide receiver Milton Wright -- were available to be picked. Any team that had selected a player in the supplemental draft would have to give up the corresponding pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Both Wideman and Wright are now considered free agents and can sign with any club.
Wideman is scheduling workouts with NFL teams for the onset of training camp later in July, Pelissero reported, per Wideman's agent. The wideout also has offers from the CFL and XFL, per Pelissero.
Wideman was a standout for the Tigers in 2021, catching 34 passes for 540 yards and 12 touchdowns. But he played in just six games in 2022 (three catches, 49 yards, TD). Wideman began his college career at Tennessee in 2020, catching one pass for 24 yards in six appearances, before transferring to Jackson State.
Wright, who will turn 23 on Sept. 28, reportedly was ruled academically ineligible for the 2022 season. He caught 99 passes for 1,325 yards (13.4-yard average) and 10 touchdowns in 29 career games, with three of those touchdowns coming in an eight-catch, 213-yard performance in 2021 against Northwestern.
The last time an NFL team used a selection in the supplemental draft was back in 2019, when the Arizona Cardinals spent a fifth-round selection to take safety Jalen Thompson, who has become a starter for the club.
The NFL first held the supplemental draft in 1977. The event provides an opportunity for draft-eligible prospects who did not enter the annual spring draft. Pro Football Hall of Famer Cris Carter and Pro Bowler Josh Gordon are among the notable players who have been selected in the supplemental draft. Prospects who intend to enter the supplemental draft must be approved by the league for eligibility.
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