Most people would assume the Chicago Bears have concluded their potential additions of rookie players in 2019. They selected five in the draft and then added 21 undrafted free agents. A sizable influx of potential talent to go along with their veteran roster. One that already made the playoffs last year. It's a welcome sign of their short and long-term future.
However, they may not be done just yet. One avenue that GM Ryan Pace has yet to explore in his time with the Bears is the NFL Supplemental Draft. For those who aren't familiar, here's a quick explanation. It's a draft held during the summer before the regular season. All players involved must be three years removed from high school and have failed to declare for the regular draft.
Reasons for this can span across a wide range from academic ineligibility, drug violations, off-the-field issues, or being dismissed from his college program for disciplinary reasons. It's not a hotbed of future stars too often, but there have been some gems to come out of it in the past. Names like Bernie Kosar, Cris Carter, Jamal Williams, Ahmad Brooks, and Josh Gordon.
So why would the Bears be interested this year?
Chicago Bears have wealth of picks in 2020 to consider a move
The simple answer is they have a higher assortment of picks in 2020. For those who don't know, spending a pick in the supplemental draft subtracts the pick from the inventory of next year's draft. So for example, if the Bears took somebody in the 5th round, they would lose their 5th round pick in 2020.
This would be just fine for them since they're projected to have at least one extra 5th rounder next year and possibly two thanks to the Khalil Mack and Jordan Howard trades. They are currently projected to have nine picks in total. So if Pace had eyes for a certain player available in the supplemental class, he has the ammunition to do it.
It may come down to their positioning in the draft order. Something that is not determined in the same way as the regular draft.
"The supplemental draft is held after the regular draft, which takes place in April, and before the season begins. All players must be at least three years removed from high school...
...The league’s 32 teams are divided into three groups based on their performance during the previous season. Teams that won six or fewer games form one group, non-playoff teams that won more than six games form a second group, and playoff teams form a third group. A lottery determines the draft order within each group and teams with worse records have a greater chance of drawing a higher pick."
If the Bears were to do this? It would be the first time in nine years they've taken a player in the supplemental draft. The first and only time they did it before was in 2010. That was the year they selected fullback Harvey Unga in the 7th round. He never made it off the practice squad. Maybe Pace might have more luck.
Expect the supplemental selections to take place in July.
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