The Houston Texans selected five players in the 2020 NFL Draft, their smallest class in team history. However, they may not be done picking players from the college ranks.
Barry Werner from the Touchdown Wire penned an article on how the 2020 supplemental draft could be more impactful than it has been since the late 1980s because of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the sports world. If the pandemic forces college football to cancel its games, and the decision is made in enough time for players entering their last year of eligibility to declare before the July draft, then there could be a bumper crop of college talent.
Players who decided to return to school and pass on the 2020 NFL Draft had no idea the coronavirus could impact the upcoming college football season. If it is delayed due to the impact of the pandemic, the NFL could see a large number of eligible players opt for the Supplemental Draft.
While it is the end of April, decisions are going to be made sooner than later as to how to handle college football 2020. A delay of months or until early next year would have a gigantic impact on players. The only thing certain now is how uncertain everything is.
Traditionally, players who enter the supplemental draft must file a petition, which is reviewed case-by-case. There would be a bevy of cases the NFL would have to review if players who lost their last year of eligibility due to the pandemic decided to enter the NFL.
In order to draft a supplemental player, a team bids on the prospect by submitting what pick they would be willing to give up in the next year’s April draft — this case, 2021 — to take the player.
The Texans have not made a pick in the supplemental draft since 2003 when they took running back Tony Hollings in the second round from Georgia Tech. Their first supplemental draft pick was guard Milford Brown from Florida State in 2002, a sixth-round pick.