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The NFL Draft has become a major media event in recent years, with mock drafts and football betting predictions beginning the moment the college season comes to an end. There isn’t the same sort of fervor attached to the NFL Supplemental Draft, usually because the players made available are considered the potential “Problem Children” of the league. The guys available are usually those with off-field issues, which explains why only 44 players have been chosen via this route since the first Supplemental Draft in 1977.
Watch the tape on #Rams supplemental draft pick Isaiah Battle. HIGHLIGHTS: http://t.co/TKNlZyxNOf pic.twitter.com/IdwLQCLtoP
— St. Louis Rams (@STLouisRams) July 10, 2015
Of that group, only 1 player, Cris Carter, has ended up in the Hall of Fame, while another 8 guys ended up being Pro Bowl caliber players. The last time a player was selected in the Supplemental Draft was in 2012, when the Cleveland Browns took WR Josh Gordon. That initially looked like being a brilliant selection, as Gordon was one of the 8 draftees to make the Pro Bowl. Things have gone downhill fast, though, with substance abuse issues and off-field problems leading to suspension after suspension for Gordon.
Only 1 player was chosen this year, but it was a selection that could very well reap major dividends for the St. Louis Rams. Isaiah Battle was a standout offensive lineman for Clemson for 3 years before being cut from the program for a trio of off-field issues. Speeding tickets, marijuana, and striking a North Carolina player after a game were the list of his offenses. Battle opted out of the draft proper due to “family issue,” which we assume meant spending time with his then pregnant girlfriend. Battle has become a father in the interim, and the feeling is that this may be something that helps to add some much needed maturity.
Battle will not be eligible to play for the Rams until 2016, but he can work with the coaches during the next year. The Rams only had to give up a 5th round pick in the 2016 draft to get him, which I believe is a small price to pay for a guy with a ton of upside. The Rams have made some great moves of late, and while it may not affect their odds too much coming into this season, they may make a change in the next couple of years. 