Should the Eagles have interest in any players in the 2023 NFL Supplemental Draft?

[time2rock]

Should the Eagles have interest in any players in the 2023 NFL Supplemental Draft?

The NFL Supplemental Draft is back. Should the Eagles have any interest in the draft's two prospects?

BY JIMMY KEMPSKI
PhillyVoice Staff

NIKOS FRAZIER/USA TODAY NETWORK

Purdue WR Milton Wright (0)

Eh, probably not. That's the short answer, and thanks for clicking.

After a three-year hiatus due to COVID, the NFL Supplemental Draft is back.

In case you've forgotten, the Supplemental Draft is for players whose circumstances changed their college football eligibility since the main NFL Draft. For example, in 2012, a notable player taken in the supplemental draft was WR Josh Gordon, who failed a drug test at Baylor and was dismissed from the team. The Eagles found perhaps the best supplemental draft pick of all-time in 1987, when they nabbed a Hall of Famer in Cris Carter in the 4th round.

The Supplemental Draft goes round-by-round, and teams lose a draft pick in the corresponding round of the following year's regular draft if they bid on, and are awarded, a player. In other words, when the Browns selected Gordon in the second round of the 2012 supplemental draft, they lost their second round pick in the regular 2013 NFL Draft. Got it? OK. Here are the Eagles' 2024 draft picks. (The Eagles would not be able to bid a pick in a round in which they don't have any picks, or only have a projected compensatory pick.) 

Anyway, there are currently two players entering this year's supplemental draft. Both are wide receivers, which is a position where the Eagles are arguably a little light on depth.

• Milton Wright, WR, Purdue (6'3, 195): Wright was poised to become Purdue's WR1, but he missed the 2022 season because he was academically ineligible to play. He was a contributor in Purdue's offense the three years prior: 

Milton Wright	Rec	Yards	YPC	TD
2019	18	288	16.0	1
2020	24	305	12.7	2
2021	57	732	12.8	7
TOTAL	99	1325	13.4	10

Wright has good height at 6'3 (if accurate), and the Eagles have a need for more depth at outside receiver. He has contested catch chops, and good enough speed to make his share of big plays down the field:

Wright is, in my opinion, a draftable player. He'll have his own pro day, so to speak, on July 6. If Wright has good testing numbers and his character checks out, I could see the Eagles throwing in a late-round bid.

• Malachi Wideman, WR, Tennessee and Jackson State (6'5, 190): As you can see from his height and weight, Wideman is not a wide man. He originally enrolled at Tennessee, but transferred to Jackson State after a redshirt season. He had some production in 2021 (mostly in the TD department), but he was suspended early in the season in 2022 (academics), and never got back on track. 

Malachi Wideman	Rec	Yards	YPC	TD
2020	1	24	24.0	0
2021	34	540	15.9	12
2022	3	49	16.3	1

Wideman is a two-sport athlete who also played college basketball. Some highlights:

Wideman will work out for teams on July 8. In my opinion, it's unlikely Wideman will be selected in the supplemental draft, though someone will give him a shot if/when he becomes a free agent thereafter.

https://www.phillyvoice.com/should-eagles-have-interest-any-players-2023-nfl-supplemental-draft-milton-wright-malachi-wideman/

[PoconoDon]

No.