2026 Random NFL Stuff Thread…

Yeah, when did that start? Back in the day it was just the regular draft order.
 
Yeah, when did that start? Back in the day it was just the regular draft order.
According to Grok:

The NFL switched the supplemental draft to a (weighted) lottery-based order in the late 1980s/early 1990s, specifically in response to the 1985 Bernie Kosar situation.

Originally (from its start in 1977), the supplemental draft followed the same reverse-order-of-finish (worst record first) as the regular NFL Draft. This allowed teams with the top pick (like the Buffalo Bills in 1985) to trade it and gave strong leverage to bad teams or those maneuvering for specific players.

  • 1985 Kosar controversy: Kosar (Miami QB) graduated early and wanted to play for his hometown Cleveland Browns. The Browns traded for the Bills' supplemental first pick. Kosar skipped the regular draft, leading to outrage from other teams (e.g., Vikings) that wanted him. Commissioner Pete Rozelle let it stand, but it exposed flaws in the old system.
 
According to Grok:

The NFL switched the supplemental draft to a (weighted) lottery-based order in the late 1980s/early 1990s, specifically in response to the 1985 Bernie Kosar situation.

Originally (from its start in 1977), the supplemental draft followed the same reverse-order-of-finish (worst record first) as the regular NFL Draft. This allowed teams with the top pick (like the Buffalo Bills in 1985) to trade it and gave strong leverage to bad teams or those maneuvering for specific players.


  • 1985 Kosar controversy: Kosar (Miami QB) graduated early and wanted to play for his hometown Cleveland Browns. The Browns traded for the Bills' supplemental first pick. Kosar skipped the regular draft, leading to outrage from other teams (e.g., Vikings) that wanted him. Commissioner Pete Rozelle let it stand, but it exposed flaws in the old system.


I don't understand what the flaw is. They still had to trade for the pick.
 
Late 80s/early 90s is a little vague... This wasn't in place when we drafted Walsh, was it? I don't remember that if it was.
 
Late 80s/early 90s is a little vague... This wasn't in place when we drafted Walsh, was it? I don't remember that if it was.
According to Grok it was. I don't remember it, either.
 
Hmm, Google says this:

The weighted lottery system for the NFL Supplemental Draft officially began in 1993. [1]
Prior to this rule change, the draft order was entirely static, mirroring the standard draft order (the exact inverse of the previous season's standings). The league shifted to the lottery format to prevent worst-record teams from having a monopoly on premium supplemental prospects and to eliminate unfair advantages. [1, 3, 4, 5]
 
Google 's citation on that is the wiki for the NBA draft though. :doh

Gpt says the lottery was in place in 89, that the supplemental order was Dallas, Philly, Vikings, Saints while the regular order was of course Cowboys, Packers, Lions, Chiefs.:shrug
 
Late 80s/early 90s is a little vague... This wasn't in place when we drafted Walsh, was it? I don't remember that if it was.
It was. And using that pick cost us a shot at Jeff George and maybe even a bigger trade than we got when we eventually dealt Steve Walsh.

Some kind of lottery has been in place as far back as I can recall it being used, except a few years earlier with Bernie Kosar where there was a bidding war that set up the lottery system that was used for Brian Bosworth a couple years later and ever since.

Basically you need a lottery of some kind, or else a team can be "rewarded" with the top choice for having the worst record essentially two years in a row, except without playing the second year, like Buffalo in 1985 when they drafted Bruce Smith and traded their top choice in the supplemental draft to Cleveland.
 
It was. And using that pick cost us a shot at Jeff George and maybe even a bigger trade than we got when we eventually dealt Steve Walsh.

Some kind of lottery has been in place as far back as I can recall it being used, except a few years earlier with Bernie Kosar where there was a bidding war that set up the lottery system that was used for Brian Bosworth a couple years later and ever since.

Basically you need a lottery of some kind, or else a team can be "rewarded" with the top choice for having the worst record essentially two years in a row, except without playing the second year, like Buffalo in 1985 when they drafted Bruce Smith and traded their top choice in the supplemental draft to Cleveland.


Yeah, that makes sense. I retract my earlier post
 
It was. And using that pick cost us a shot at Jeff George and maybe even a bigger trade than we got when we eventually dealt Steve Walsh.
But we wouldn't have drafted George. It did cost us Cortez Kennedy or Junior Seau.

Trivia, do people know who we drafted with the picks we got from New Orleans? One was pretty great, so it worked out. But the other two I barely remember hearing of.
 
Saints gave us a lot (first, second and third), but Indy probably would have topped that for the right to draft George.
 
Saints gave us a lot (first, second and third), but Indy probably would have topped that for the right to draft George.
Wasn't the story that they loved Seau?

But yeah, Jimmy probably would've traded down at least a bit and still got him plus other picks.
 
Wasn't the story that they loved Seau?

But yeah, Jimmy probably would've traded down at least a bit and still got him plus other picks.
Incredibly, the Colts traded from pick #27 all the way to the top. Not sure that would have been an ideal trading partner for Jimmy.
 
Trivia, do people know who we drafted with the picks we got from New Orleans? One was pretty great, so it worked out. But the other two I barely remember hearing of.
Maryland in the first, of course, and they traded the first and second to move up. Erik Williams I think was the third round pick.
 
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