What? There's an NFL draft on July 15? In a manner of speaking, yes. The 2010 Supplemental Draft gives players who didn't participate in the actual draft for whatever reason. In the past, such players as Cris Carter, Mike Wahle(notes), Jamal Williams(notes), and the "legendary" Brian Bosworth have been plucked from the Supplemental Draft, bound for greater things (or, in Boz's case, really bad movies.)
Four players are eligible for the draft this year, and with the help of Rob Rang from NFLDraftScout.com, we're going to give you the basics. The only defensive player in this year's draft is defensive tackle Joshua Price-Brent from Illinois. In his two years as a starter, Price-Brent amassed 71 tackles, five sacks, 17 ½ tackles for loss, and three forced fumbles. He was declared academically ineligible this spring.
Here's Rob on Price-Brent's pro potential.
It's not just the academics - about a year ago, he spent 30 days in jail for a DUI. So, this is one of those guys where there is some off-field stuff as well. Teams will want to do their due diligence to make sure they're not taking too much of a chance. But he is a talented player - measures in at just a shade under 6-foot-2, 318 pounds at the recent private workout he had for clubs. 18 teams were present at the workout, and several sent their directors of player personnel. He has the size to hold up inside, but he doesn't have great strength - he only had 21 reps at the 225-pound bench press at his private workout, and that would have been the worst of any defensive tackle over 295 pounds that was invited to this year's scouting combine.
But you see some athletic ability and some "want-to" on the field. He's a productive player - not a superstar, but a guy who makes you think he's coming around to being something special. He's moving up on a lot of charts, because he's an established player in the Big 10, and a lot of teams are starting to warm up to him. He's probably the safest of the four players.
I asked Rob about the tradeoff between strength and speed - if he doesn't have the upper-body strength to hang in as a true nose tackle, and lacks the explosiveness to be a legitimate three-tech, does that make him a one-tech specialist?
That's the concern I have for him. He's not a natural pass-rusher and he doesn't have the lateral quickness to make it as a three-technique tackle. I see him in a 4-3, but not as a true nose tackle. He's a one-gap player; he just doesn't have the strength to be a two-gap guy at this point. He can contribute even as a rookie as a rotational player, but I don't know if he'll ever be a standout.
Rob also mentioned that he probably doesn't project well as a 3-4 end, though some teams may look to put him there because of his optimal size for the position - he may not have the wingspan to be a classic Steelers/Ravens end. The buzz is pretty strong on Price-Brent, and he could go in the fourth or fifth round.
Price-Brent and BYU running back Harvey Unga are the feature players in this draft. The other two players, Northwestern State running back Quentin Castille and Truman State running back Vanness Emokpae, do not project as draft picks, which means that they will likely be picked up by an NFL team as undrafted free agents. You can read Rob's take on Castille and Emokpae right here.
Related: Mike Wahle, Jamal Williams Email Shutdown Corner Buzz up! digg add to facebook delicious Twitter
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