JonCJG
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With the NFL Supplemental Draft looming and talented players like Virginia LB Ahmad Brooks available to any NFL team, the GMs and personnel guys around the league have a huge choice to make.
Should NFL teams now go for a talented player that wasn't eligible for this spring's draft? Or, should they hold off this summer and save that pick for next year's regular draft?
If a team selects a guy in this year's supplemental draft, they do get someone ready to help out immediately.
However, if you get the guy, next April, you give up an equivalent selection in the regular NFL Draft. Sometimes, the reward does outweigh the risk. Many times, it doesn't. It's a tricky situation for NFL teams and an even bigger guessing game than the normal draft.
All that said, here are my All-time Top 5 worst selections in the NFL Supplemental Draft.
My top five worst supplemental picks aren't guys that I would necessarily consider busts. In retrospect, they simply weren't worth the draft pick that their teams gave up in getting them.
So, I'm not here just to point, laugh, and say "these guys were bad picks," I'm going to show you why they were. Along the way, I'll tie in some players that the teams could've chosen had they patiently waited for the next draft, and not taken these particular dudes in the "Supp."
1. Brian Bosworth, LB, Seattle Seahawks
(1987 Supplemental Draft, 1st round)
Labeled an all-time NFL draft "bust" (supplemental or otherwise), there was no doubt back in '87 that some team would use a first-round supplemental pick on Boz.
At the time, few would question whether or not the crazy-haired, two-time Butkus Award winner was headed for a rockin' pro career, even though he was only eligible for the NFL
Supplemental Draft after getting kicked off Oklahoma's team in 1987 for failing a drug test.
As a linebacker, Bosworth had it all. He was intelligent (an Academic All-American), athletic, aggressive and marketable. Back then, to suggest that "the Boz" would eventually be anything short of a perennial Pro Bowler would've been, as they said, "uncivilized."
However, Boz only played three up-and-down seasons (insert your own "Bo Jackson running over Boz on MNF" jokes here), and retired after a bum shoulder rendered him entirely ineffective.
Even worse for the Seahawks during the Bosworth era was that they lost four-time Pro Bowl linebacker Fredd Young, who wound up in Indianapolis. They should've found a way to keep Fredd around.
So, who could the Seahawks have drafted in 1988, had they waited until the NFL Draft to take a linebacker?
In 1988, Seattle wouldn't have even needed to select a linebacker with the first round pick they lost by taking Bosworth.
After the first round, teams found a group of solid linebackers that would still be making names for themselves in the NFL throughout the 1990s while Bosworth was in early retirement. Check these names out: Chris Spielman, Ken Norton, Vincent Brown, Fred Strickland, Bill Romanowski and Carlton Bailey. At linebacker, any of those names would've been better 1988 draft choices than Bosworth.
2. Timm Rosenbach, QB, Phoenix Cardinals
(1989 Supplemental Draft, 1st round)
A threat to throw or run in college at Washington State, Tim with two M's was widely regarded as a gamer. He also led the entire nation in passing efficiency in 1988, and finished seventh in that year's Heisman voting.
At the time of that supplemental draft, the "Phoenix" Cardinals needed a quarterback, as franchise QB Neil Lomax was battling a nagging leg injury that would eventually end with a career-ending hip replacement.
Also, the Cardinals avoided choosing a quarterback in the 1989 NFL Draft, probably since it was pretty barren on the quarterback front. Troy Aikman, Rodney Peete and Billy Joe Tolliver were the only QBs from the 1989 draft to ever make any sort of dent in the league.
Like Bosworth, Timm Rosenbach only played three NFL seasons. The first year, he sat behind Gary Hogeboom. The second season, he showed glimpses of a promising career, throwing for 3,098 yards, running for 470 more and forever immortalizing himself as the starting Cardinals quarterback on the Nintendo classic Super Tecmo Bowl.
In 1991, Rosenbach blew his knee out and missed the entire year, leaving the Cardinals to rely on Tom Tupa as their starting quarterback. Seriously. In 1992, Rosenbach entered an early retirement after a scary concussion, which led him into the rodeo, an uneventful CFL stint and a private fishing business.
He's now back in football, as a respected college assistant at his alma mater, Washington State.
Had the Cardinals waited until 1990 to draft a quarterback: The Cardinals would've been hovering around the fifth or sixth pick in the draft, depending on the tiebreaker between the 5-11 teams. So, had "Phoenix" not selected Rosenbach in the '89 supp, they would've still had a nice group of productive college quarterbacks to choose from in 1990.
With Jeff George the top NFL prospect, Atlanta had the first pick that year. However, since the Falcons already had Chris Miller, they were looking to deal it away. The Cardinals could've made a move if they coveted George with the first pick they essentially lost on Rosenbach.
Also, Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware would've been available in the first round. And, if the runnin'-and-shootin' Ware wasn't your speed, in the later rounds you could find a Neil O'Donnell, Scott Mitchell and John Friesz. Not bad. As you remember, O'Donnell wound up starting in a Super Bowl, while Mitchell and Friesz were, um, tall.
3. Dave Brown, QB, Giants
(1992 Supplemental Draft, 1st round)
Brown was 6-foot-5 and threw a great deep ball in college. When it came to his prospects in the NFL, not only did he appear nothing short of prototypical, he had the arm to back it up.
Brown was tutored in the early part of his college career by then-Duke coach Steve Spurrier. By the end of his stay in Durham, he had developed into one of the nation's most impressive passers.
Instead of staying at Duke to play one more season, Brown put his name into the 1992 supplemental draft, and the Summit, N.J., native was drafted by his (essentially) hometown Giants.
To me, what made this such a bad supplemental selection in hindsight wasn't that Brown was a terrible quarterback or anything. It was that the Giants already had Jeff Hostetler and Phil Simms, so there was nothing for Brown to do right away, making it obvious that the team could've used their 1993 first-round pick on a more prominent need. By the summer of 1992 (when they selected Brown), the Giants were already a shell of the veteran-laden champions that won the Super Bowl only a year-and-a-half prior.
During Brown's rookie season with the Giants, he sat through yet another "Is it Hostetler or Simms?" debacle. In his second year, he sat behind Simms. If the Giants were going to take a flier on drafting a young quarterback during this era (only to make him sit), they should've waited to develop some of the young talent that was about to become available in the 1993 NFL Draft (see "Had they Waited").
When Brown was finally handed the controls in 1994, the gritty right-hander threw for 8,785 yards on some pretty bad Giants teams, before losing his job to Danny Kanell due to injury in 1997.
In 1998, Brown wound up in Arizona, where the Jake Plummer era had already begun, and he watched as the Cardinals finally tried to kind-of, sort-of recover from the drafting of Timm Rosenbach.
Had the Giants waited until 1993 to draft a quarterback:
Since they finished 6-10 in 1992, the top two quarterbacks in the draft (Drew Bledsoe and Rick Mirer) wouldn't have been around by the first-round pick that the Giants essentially gave up.
However, take a look at the only other quarterbacks selected in 1993. In the later rounds, you had Mark Brunell, Trent Green, Elvis Grbac, Billy Joe Hobert, Alex Van Pelt and Gino Toretta. And, aside from Toretta, the Giants would've eventually gotten as much or more out of any of the names mentioned as they did Dave Brown.
4. Steve Walsh, QB, Cowboys
(1989 Supplemental Draft, 1st round)
Even though you could never accuse Walsh of coming anywhere close to throwing the ball out of the stadium a la Michael Vick in a Powerade commercial, he was a terrific college quarterback at the University of Miami. And, with newly ex-Hurricane coach Jimmy Johnson taking the reigns in Dallas, you could understand why Jimmy would want one of "his guys."
Walsh was a leader, a winner, but had questionable arm strength for the pro level. By 1989, every pro team coveted the 6-5, 220 pound, rocket-armed quarterback, but there was still this Joe Montana fella that was winning championships. In retrospect, you could see where Walsh could've fit a Montana-like mold.
What makes this a terrible selection is that Dallas had already selected Troy Aikman with the No. 1 overall selection that year in the regular draft. It's still mind-blowing that they'd use what was ultimately a first-round pick in the 1990 draft on yet another rookie quarterback. Were the Cowboys hoping Jimmy could win with Walsh and trade Aikman?
As history shows, Aikman won out. In a genius move by the Cowboys, Walsh was traded after only two seasons to New Orleans for draft picks. From there, he went on to a solid, but not spectacular, NFL career as a part-time starter and backup for various teams.
Had the Cowboys waited until 1990 to draft a quarterback:
Obviously with Aikman, the Cowboys did NOT need a quarterback, and due to the flurry of picks from the Herschel Walker trade, they still wound up with Emmitt Smith in 1990.
However, finishing 1-15 in 1989, they would've had the No. 1 selection in the 1990 draft. Considering that Indianapolis traded Chris Hinton, Andre Rison and draft picks to Atlanta for that particular pick to take Jeff George, the eventual Cowboy dynasty could've made an even bigger splash in the early 1990s. Imagine Michael Irvin and Andre Rison in the same receiving corps circa 1993. It would've been sick.
On the other hand, some have argued that the Cowboys may have never drafted Emmitt Smith in 1990 had they not used a supplemental pick on Walsh. Remember, that running back Blair Thomas was selected with the second pick in '90. Fortunately, we'll never know.
Dave Wilson, QB, Saints
(1981 Supplemental Draft, 1st round)
In college at Illinois, Wilson was the man. In 1980, Wilson bombed Ohio State for a record 621 passing yards in one game. When Wilson became eligible for the supplemental draft, the hapless New Orleans Saints simply couldn't help themselves.
At the time, the Saints still had perennial punching bag Archie Manning in control of the quarterback position. And Wilson never got much of a chance after his rookie season in 1981, when he threw an Alex Smith-like one touchdown to 11 interceptions.
What makes this a bad selection was that Wilson (like Manning or any other Saints quarterback in that era) was heaved to the lobos way too early, bad for any young quarterback, but then he sat. And boy, did he sit. In fact, he almost sat behind every quarterback in a set of 1979 TOPPS Pro Football cards. He sat behind Manning. He sat behind Ken Stabler. He even sat behind Richard Todd. Folks, you know that your team thinks you throw way too many interceptions if you're grabbing bench behind Richard Todd, also known by his superhero alter ego "Pickman."
Wilson finally got his chance to shine for the Saints in 1985, but he had a difficult time holding off USFL refugee Bobby Hebert. Wilson had an even harder time holding Hebert off once ex-USFL coach Jim Mora took over in New Orleans for 1986.
By the time the 1987 strike dust settled, the job was Hebert's. By '89, Wilson was out of football. From '81-88, Wilson passed for a very un-first-round worthy career total of 6,987.
Had the Saints waited until 1982 to draft a quarterback:
The Saints would've had the third pick in the 1982 NFL Draft. Here were the quarterbacks available for the Saints to draft that year (in order): Jim McMahon, Art Schlichter, Oliver Luck, Matt Kofler, Mike Pagel, Mike Kelley, Luc Tousignant, Bob Lane, Bryan Clark, Ron Reeves, Steve Michuta, Bob Holly and Dan Fereday. Well, I guess there was one in there, huh?
Should NFL teams now go for a talented player that wasn't eligible for this spring's draft? Or, should they hold off this summer and save that pick for next year's regular draft?
If a team selects a guy in this year's supplemental draft, they do get someone ready to help out immediately.
However, if you get the guy, next April, you give up an equivalent selection in the regular NFL Draft. Sometimes, the reward does outweigh the risk. Many times, it doesn't. It's a tricky situation for NFL teams and an even bigger guessing game than the normal draft.
All that said, here are my All-time Top 5 worst selections in the NFL Supplemental Draft.
My top five worst supplemental picks aren't guys that I would necessarily consider busts. In retrospect, they simply weren't worth the draft pick that their teams gave up in getting them.
So, I'm not here just to point, laugh, and say "these guys were bad picks," I'm going to show you why they were. Along the way, I'll tie in some players that the teams could've chosen had they patiently waited for the next draft, and not taken these particular dudes in the "Supp."
1. Brian Bosworth, LB, Seattle Seahawks
(1987 Supplemental Draft, 1st round)
Labeled an all-time NFL draft "bust" (supplemental or otherwise), there was no doubt back in '87 that some team would use a first-round supplemental pick on Boz.
At the time, few would question whether or not the crazy-haired, two-time Butkus Award winner was headed for a rockin' pro career, even though he was only eligible for the NFL
Supplemental Draft after getting kicked off Oklahoma's team in 1987 for failing a drug test.
As a linebacker, Bosworth had it all. He was intelligent (an Academic All-American), athletic, aggressive and marketable. Back then, to suggest that "the Boz" would eventually be anything short of a perennial Pro Bowler would've been, as they said, "uncivilized."
However, Boz only played three up-and-down seasons (insert your own "Bo Jackson running over Boz on MNF" jokes here), and retired after a bum shoulder rendered him entirely ineffective.
Even worse for the Seahawks during the Bosworth era was that they lost four-time Pro Bowl linebacker Fredd Young, who wound up in Indianapolis. They should've found a way to keep Fredd around.
So, who could the Seahawks have drafted in 1988, had they waited until the NFL Draft to take a linebacker?
In 1988, Seattle wouldn't have even needed to select a linebacker with the first round pick they lost by taking Bosworth.
After the first round, teams found a group of solid linebackers that would still be making names for themselves in the NFL throughout the 1990s while Bosworth was in early retirement. Check these names out: Chris Spielman, Ken Norton, Vincent Brown, Fred Strickland, Bill Romanowski and Carlton Bailey. At linebacker, any of those names would've been better 1988 draft choices than Bosworth.
2. Timm Rosenbach, QB, Phoenix Cardinals
(1989 Supplemental Draft, 1st round)
A threat to throw or run in college at Washington State, Tim with two M's was widely regarded as a gamer. He also led the entire nation in passing efficiency in 1988, and finished seventh in that year's Heisman voting.
At the time of that supplemental draft, the "Phoenix" Cardinals needed a quarterback, as franchise QB Neil Lomax was battling a nagging leg injury that would eventually end with a career-ending hip replacement.
Also, the Cardinals avoided choosing a quarterback in the 1989 NFL Draft, probably since it was pretty barren on the quarterback front. Troy Aikman, Rodney Peete and Billy Joe Tolliver were the only QBs from the 1989 draft to ever make any sort of dent in the league.
Like Bosworth, Timm Rosenbach only played three NFL seasons. The first year, he sat behind Gary Hogeboom. The second season, he showed glimpses of a promising career, throwing for 3,098 yards, running for 470 more and forever immortalizing himself as the starting Cardinals quarterback on the Nintendo classic Super Tecmo Bowl.
In 1991, Rosenbach blew his knee out and missed the entire year, leaving the Cardinals to rely on Tom Tupa as their starting quarterback. Seriously. In 1992, Rosenbach entered an early retirement after a scary concussion, which led him into the rodeo, an uneventful CFL stint and a private fishing business.
He's now back in football, as a respected college assistant at his alma mater, Washington State.
Had the Cardinals waited until 1990 to draft a quarterback: The Cardinals would've been hovering around the fifth or sixth pick in the draft, depending on the tiebreaker between the 5-11 teams. So, had "Phoenix" not selected Rosenbach in the '89 supp, they would've still had a nice group of productive college quarterbacks to choose from in 1990.
With Jeff George the top NFL prospect, Atlanta had the first pick that year. However, since the Falcons already had Chris Miller, they were looking to deal it away. The Cardinals could've made a move if they coveted George with the first pick they essentially lost on Rosenbach.
Also, Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware would've been available in the first round. And, if the runnin'-and-shootin' Ware wasn't your speed, in the later rounds you could find a Neil O'Donnell, Scott Mitchell and John Friesz. Not bad. As you remember, O'Donnell wound up starting in a Super Bowl, while Mitchell and Friesz were, um, tall.
3. Dave Brown, QB, Giants
(1992 Supplemental Draft, 1st round)
Brown was 6-foot-5 and threw a great deep ball in college. When it came to his prospects in the NFL, not only did he appear nothing short of prototypical, he had the arm to back it up.
Brown was tutored in the early part of his college career by then-Duke coach Steve Spurrier. By the end of his stay in Durham, he had developed into one of the nation's most impressive passers.
Instead of staying at Duke to play one more season, Brown put his name into the 1992 supplemental draft, and the Summit, N.J., native was drafted by his (essentially) hometown Giants.
To me, what made this such a bad supplemental selection in hindsight wasn't that Brown was a terrible quarterback or anything. It was that the Giants already had Jeff Hostetler and Phil Simms, so there was nothing for Brown to do right away, making it obvious that the team could've used their 1993 first-round pick on a more prominent need. By the summer of 1992 (when they selected Brown), the Giants were already a shell of the veteran-laden champions that won the Super Bowl only a year-and-a-half prior.
During Brown's rookie season with the Giants, he sat through yet another "Is it Hostetler or Simms?" debacle. In his second year, he sat behind Simms. If the Giants were going to take a flier on drafting a young quarterback during this era (only to make him sit), they should've waited to develop some of the young talent that was about to become available in the 1993 NFL Draft (see "Had they Waited").
When Brown was finally handed the controls in 1994, the gritty right-hander threw for 8,785 yards on some pretty bad Giants teams, before losing his job to Danny Kanell due to injury in 1997.
In 1998, Brown wound up in Arizona, where the Jake Plummer era had already begun, and he watched as the Cardinals finally tried to kind-of, sort-of recover from the drafting of Timm Rosenbach.
Had the Giants waited until 1993 to draft a quarterback:
Since they finished 6-10 in 1992, the top two quarterbacks in the draft (Drew Bledsoe and Rick Mirer) wouldn't have been around by the first-round pick that the Giants essentially gave up.
However, take a look at the only other quarterbacks selected in 1993. In the later rounds, you had Mark Brunell, Trent Green, Elvis Grbac, Billy Joe Hobert, Alex Van Pelt and Gino Toretta. And, aside from Toretta, the Giants would've eventually gotten as much or more out of any of the names mentioned as they did Dave Brown.
4. Steve Walsh, QB, Cowboys
(1989 Supplemental Draft, 1st round)
Even though you could never accuse Walsh of coming anywhere close to throwing the ball out of the stadium a la Michael Vick in a Powerade commercial, he was a terrific college quarterback at the University of Miami. And, with newly ex-Hurricane coach Jimmy Johnson taking the reigns in Dallas, you could understand why Jimmy would want one of "his guys."
Walsh was a leader, a winner, but had questionable arm strength for the pro level. By 1989, every pro team coveted the 6-5, 220 pound, rocket-armed quarterback, but there was still this Joe Montana fella that was winning championships. In retrospect, you could see where Walsh could've fit a Montana-like mold.
What makes this a terrible selection is that Dallas had already selected Troy Aikman with the No. 1 overall selection that year in the regular draft. It's still mind-blowing that they'd use what was ultimately a first-round pick in the 1990 draft on yet another rookie quarterback. Were the Cowboys hoping Jimmy could win with Walsh and trade Aikman?
As history shows, Aikman won out. In a genius move by the Cowboys, Walsh was traded after only two seasons to New Orleans for draft picks. From there, he went on to a solid, but not spectacular, NFL career as a part-time starter and backup for various teams.
Had the Cowboys waited until 1990 to draft a quarterback:
Obviously with Aikman, the Cowboys did NOT need a quarterback, and due to the flurry of picks from the Herschel Walker trade, they still wound up with Emmitt Smith in 1990.
However, finishing 1-15 in 1989, they would've had the No. 1 selection in the 1990 draft. Considering that Indianapolis traded Chris Hinton, Andre Rison and draft picks to Atlanta for that particular pick to take Jeff George, the eventual Cowboy dynasty could've made an even bigger splash in the early 1990s. Imagine Michael Irvin and Andre Rison in the same receiving corps circa 1993. It would've been sick.
On the other hand, some have argued that the Cowboys may have never drafted Emmitt Smith in 1990 had they not used a supplemental pick on Walsh. Remember, that running back Blair Thomas was selected with the second pick in '90. Fortunately, we'll never know.
Dave Wilson, QB, Saints
(1981 Supplemental Draft, 1st round)
In college at Illinois, Wilson was the man. In 1980, Wilson bombed Ohio State for a record 621 passing yards in one game. When Wilson became eligible for the supplemental draft, the hapless New Orleans Saints simply couldn't help themselves.
At the time, the Saints still had perennial punching bag Archie Manning in control of the quarterback position. And Wilson never got much of a chance after his rookie season in 1981, when he threw an Alex Smith-like one touchdown to 11 interceptions.
What makes this a bad selection was that Wilson (like Manning or any other Saints quarterback in that era) was heaved to the lobos way too early, bad for any young quarterback, but then he sat. And boy, did he sit. In fact, he almost sat behind every quarterback in a set of 1979 TOPPS Pro Football cards. He sat behind Manning. He sat behind Ken Stabler. He even sat behind Richard Todd. Folks, you know that your team thinks you throw way too many interceptions if you're grabbing bench behind Richard Todd, also known by his superhero alter ego "Pickman."
Wilson finally got his chance to shine for the Saints in 1985, but he had a difficult time holding off USFL refugee Bobby Hebert. Wilson had an even harder time holding Hebert off once ex-USFL coach Jim Mora took over in New Orleans for 1986.
By the time the 1987 strike dust settled, the job was Hebert's. By '89, Wilson was out of football. From '81-88, Wilson passed for a very un-first-round worthy career total of 6,987.
Had the Saints waited until 1982 to draft a quarterback:
The Saints would've had the third pick in the 1982 NFL Draft. Here were the quarterbacks available for the Saints to draft that year (in order): Jim McMahon, Art Schlichter, Oliver Luck, Matt Kofler, Mike Pagel, Mike Kelley, Luc Tousignant, Bob Lane, Bryan Clark, Ron Reeves, Steve Michuta, Bob Holly and Dan Fereday. Well, I guess there was one in there, huh?
