Chicago Bears fans are understandably starving for news this time of year. The early-to-mid summer months of June and July are considered the NFL "dead period." A time when there just isn't much going on around the league aside from the occasional suspension or unexpected development. One event that never gets much attention is the NFL supplemental draft.
It's not hard to see why that's the case. The supplemental draft is almost always an avenue for certain college players who had academic or off-the-field issues to get a late jump into the league. It's rare that any of those players actually get selected. Teams aren't willing to take a risk and instead let the players become undrafted free agents.
However, once in a while there are certain talents that come around who cause heavy discussion. Players who would likely have been high picks in the regular NFL draft but circumstances never went that direction. These players are the ones who get drafted. It doesn't always work out, but sometimes it has.
Current buzz suggests 2018 may be one of those years.
Supplemental draft may actually hold intrigue for Chicago Bears fans
According to Albert Breer of the MMQB, the supplemental draft class this year seems abnormally stacked. He expects it's possible that two or maybe even three players could be selected. They are cornerbacks Adonis Alexander (Virginia Tech) and Sam Beal (Western Michigan) and safety Brandon Bryant of Mississippi State."All had academic issues. And all had other background flags that teams have had to sort through. Beal and Alexander each could’ve gone as high as the second or third round from a talent standpoint, but there are maturity concerns for both. Alexander, as I’ve heard him described, is a Seattle-type corner, while Beal is a more versatile and better cover guy, but lacks bulk and could be a liability in the run game. I think those guys have a shot to get drafted."https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbs14aJzhJY Of those names list, the one that may intrigue the Bears is Beal. He fits the profile of the type of corner Vic Fangio likes. He's got size, plays tight man coverage, gives high effort and can force turnovers as the video above shows. Some will ask why should the best even be interested? They just got done adding several undrafted corners to the roster.
Such a move would be redundant.
First of all, there's no such thing as too many good corners on a roster. Second, it's important to remember several names the Bears already have signed are on one-year deals including Bryce Callahan and Marcus Cooper. It would be nice to have replacements ready and waiting for if and when they leave. The question becomes if the Bears do like Beal or one of the other prospects, are they willing to pay the price? For those who don't understand how the supplemental draft works, here's a brief explanation."If a team drafts a player, it surrenders the supplemental pick it used in the next year’s college draft. So if a team picks, say, Beal in the fourth round, their fourth-rounder next year is gone."It's important to remember the Bears already gave up their second round pick in 2019 when they traded up to grab Anthony Miller a month ago. If they were to spend another in this supplemental draft, they'd be down to just five picks next year. So a lot will depend on how much they like these talents and their overall impressions of the 2019 draft class.
