Denver Broncos: Supplemental draft prospects of interest

ARLINGTON, TX - JANUARY 2: Sam Beal #18 of the Western Michigan Broncos and teammate Keion Adams #1 react after stopping the Wisconsin Badgers from a first down during the first half of the 81st Goodyear Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium on January 2, 2017 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TX - JANUARY 2: Sam Beal #18 of the Western Michigan Broncos and teammate Keion Adams #1 react after stopping the Wisconsin Badgers from a first down during the first half of the 81st Goodyear Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium on January 2, 2017 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images) /
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The Denver Broncos will be among the many teams potentially looking to make a big on a player in the 2018 Supplemental Draft…

The Denver Broncos will be among the many teams active and interested in the 2018 supplemental draft.

This year’s crop of players is notable and much more talented than in years past. There have not been many players selected in the supplemental draft in recent years that have been highly impactful NFL players, though players like Terrelle Pryor and Josh Gordon have had varying levels of success.

The supplemental draft will take place on Wednesday at 11 AM MT, with a predetermined order that is not known by the teams.

This is why the supplemental draft is extremely riveting when talented prospects are involved.

Teams are separated into tiers based on last season, and each round is a lottery of sorts. The Broncos are in the first tier of teams having finished last year as the fifth-worst team in the entire league.

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This means the Broncos stand a pretty good chance of winning a ‘bid’ for a player should they choose to submit one in any given round.

If a team bids a first round pick and they are awarded the player, they will lose the corresponding selection in the 2019 NFL Draft. The same is true for every other round.

Most teams don’t use very high picks on players due to the nature of these players’ availability typically coming from some type of off-field issue.

With that said, the prospects available in this year’s class are mostly clean off the field and simply failed to meet academic standards of their college programs.

Players become eligible for the supplemental draft for a variety of reasons, but this year’s group of guys all seem to be legitimate prospects with solid NFL upside, possibly even some early starting upside.

Our friends over at NFLMocks.com have a great piece up on the supplemental draft and the prospects involved.

It’s very likely we will see three defensive backs from this class selected. They are Adonis Alexander of Virginia Tech, Sam Beal of Western Michigan, and Brandon Bryant of Mississippi State.

Of those three, the only pro day in which the Broncos were confirmed in attendance was that of Sam Beal at Western Michigan.

The Broncos are in a rare position where the supply meets their potential demand in the supplemental draft.

They do not necessarily have anything solidified in the cornerback spot vacated by Pro Bowler Aqib Talib, and a player like Beal has potential to be a shutdown cornerback in the NFL.

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Alexander has that potential as well but is a very different style of prospect.

Both players excel in press-man coverage, but Beal has much better long speed.

The Broncos have an extra selection in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft thanks to the Trevor Siemian trade, but currently, do not have extra picks on day one or two of the 2019 Draft or any compensatory picks coming.

Any investment in Beal or Alexander would be an indicator the Broncos believe either player has a chance of starting sooner rather than later and they’re willing to give up a very important asset to bring them aboard.