Bengals Unlikely to Participate in Supplemental Draft
By Jack Lane
A typically conservative team, the Bengals should not break that trend and make a move in the supplemental draft tonight.
The NFL supplemental draft will happen later today, although Bengals fans shouldn’t care too much. The supplemental draft often comes and goes without fanfare because so few teams draft players. Some years, not a single player goes in the supplemental draft. While this allows many fans to overlook the draft, there are gems that emerge from time to time. Current NFL wide receivers Josh Gordon and Terrelle Pryor were both high selections in the supplemental draft.
For those who don’t know how the draft works, it is pretty similar to the regular NFL draft. There are seven rounds in the supplemental draft and everyone has a potential selection each round. The teams are in three “tiers” – teams with six or fewer wins, non-playoff teams with more than six wins, and playoff teams. This means the Bengals are in the second tier this year. Within their tier, teams do not know in what order they are drafting.
The draft does not require teams to make any selections. However, if a team wants to draft a player, they can put in a bid for that player. If that team has the highest priority bid on the player they want, they are awarded that player. When a team is awarded a player, they lose a draft pick in the NFL Draft from the same round they drafted that player in the supplemental draft. For instance, the Browns bid on Josh Gordon in the second round of the supplemental draft. Therefore, they lost their second round pick for the next year’s NFL Draft.
Like I said, Bengals fans shouldn’t pay too much attention this year. The Bengals rarely participate in the supplemental draft – they only took Ahmad Brooks in 2006 – so it would be surprising to see them participate this year. Not only would the Bengals be hesitant to take a mediocre prospect that loses them a draft pick, but the good supplemental prospects also don’t fit the Bengals’ current roster.
The only eligible players worth drafting are secondary players. Western Michigan’s Sam Beal is actually a strong candidate to go in this year’s draft, along with Virginia Tech’s Adonis Alexander and Mississippi State’s Brandon Bryant. Beal and Alexander are solid press corners, while Bryant is a projectable backup safety.
The Bengals showed some interest in Beal, but he will probably go too high for the Bengals to take him. The team already has plenty of secondary players, so adding another one from the supplemental draft makes very little sense. Keep an eye out in case the Bengals make a move, but the draft will likely come and go for Cincinnati.