Will Chiefs Play In The Supplemental Draft?

On Thursday the NFL will hold a Supplemental Draft for four players who have been declared eligible for the selection meeting.

As they’ve done since the Supplemental Draft began 33 years ago, the Chiefs do not figure to be active in this affair. Only once before have they used a choice in the extra draft. That came in 1993, when they used a second-round selection on DE Darren Mickell out of Florida.

(Like all NFL teams, the Chiefs selected three players in a special Supplemental Draft in 1984 of players that were under contract in the USFL: OL Mark Adickes, CB Lupe Sanchez and CB Garcia Lane.)

There have been 38 players selected in the Supplemental Draft since it began in 1977. That year it was RB Al Hunter coming out of Notre Dame, who was grabbed by Seattle in the fourth round.

This year, the player who has drawn the most attention is RB Harvey Unga (left), the leading rusher in Brigham Young history, who saw his career in Provo, Utah end with a violation of the school’s honor code rule against pre-marital sex. His son Jackson was born on the Fourth of July to his fiancé Keilane Moeaki. She’s the younger sister of Chiefs draft choice TE Tony Moeaki.

Will the Chiefs bring the soon-to-be brothers-in-law together? That’s hard to say, but considering the importance that Clark Hunt/Scott Pioli/Todd Haley place on draft choices, it’s doubtful they will give up any sort of value pick for Unga, read fourth-round or higher.

First, running back is not a position of great need for the Chiefs, not with Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones on the roster. Obviously with Jones turning 32 next month, a younger power-back type is needed in the big picture. But those types of runners are available every year. Unga is a good back, but nothing exceptional when it comes to his athletic skills. He’s 6-1, 244 pounds and runs the 40-yard dash in the high 4.6s. Unga has good hands, but is not very adept as a blocker. There are questions about his work ethic.

A sixth or seventh-round choice would be appropriate for a player like Unga.

Joining Unga in the supplemental pool are RB Vanness Emokpae (right) out of Truman State, RB Quentin Castille from Northwestern State and DT Joshua Price-Brent who played at Illinois. NFL scouts say there’s a chance Price-Brent could be drafted with a later round pick.

Last year, there were eight eligible players for the Supplemental Draft. Only one was selected, as Washington used a third-round selection to take Kentucky DE Jeremy Jarmon.

The league has a weighted three-step lottery system to determine the order of the supplemental draft. Teams that finished the ’09 season with six wins or less are part of the first group. The team that posted the worst record among that group (this year that’s St. Louis) is given a weighted advantage over the following team, with each team’s “weight” being decreased downward. The second group is the non-playoff teams with more than six victories. The third group is last season’s 12 playoff teams.

After the drafting order is determined, each team submits the name of the player(s) they are interested in, as well as the round they would like to choose them in. The team with the highest bid gets the player. If more than one team bids on a pick in the same round, the team with the highest position in the draft order wins out.

NFL SUPPLEMENTAL DRAFT PICKS (1977-2009)