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<\/p>\nYes, the cover photo is of the Hall of Famer Cris Carter. He finished his career behind only Jerry Rice in touchdown receptions (129) and total catches (1,101). Despite retiring nearly 25 years ago, Carter still ranks near the top of both categories among receivers:<\/p>\n
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Before all that, Carter was a fourth-round supplemental draft pick.\u00a0(By the Eagles!) Intending to play his senior year at Ohio State, he instead entered the 1987 supplemental draft after the\u00a0NCAA\u00a0ruled him ineligible<\/a>\u00a0due to \u2026 ready for it? \u2026 prematurely signing with an agent. The horror!<\/p>\n (Side note: The NCAA pushing this type of activity underground actually created a horrible situation involving both the mob and FBI. Bleacher Report has a\u00a0good story on the saga here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Carter was drafted in September 1987, during the second (of\u00a0three<\/a>) supplemental drafts held that year.<\/p>\n Inside:\u00a0How (and why) the supplemental draft works, plus what we\u2019ve learned\u00a0from early offseason workouts<\/a>. If you missed Thursday\u2019s newsletter, we had a fun look at the\u00a0best\/worst jerseys for all 32 teams<\/a>. Let\u2019s roll.<\/p>\n This article is from The Athletic\u2019s NFL newsletter. Sign up here<\/a> to receive it directly in your inbox. It\u2019s free to subscribe. <\/p>\n Supplemental draft, explained<\/p>\n Since the supplemental draft is so infrequent, it remains a poorly understood part of the NFL rulebook.\u00a0Here\u2019s what\u00a0you should know about it:<\/p>\n 1. The league\u2019s collective bargaining agreement mandates that college prospects who do not enter the NFL via the\u00a0draft can apply for selection in a\u00a0supplemental\u00a0draft (though there must be a reason, as players can\u2019t just decide to skip the April version).<\/p>\n 2. If no one applies for the supplemental draft, it doesn\u2019t happen that year. It also doesn\u2019t happen if teams are uninterested in the applicants. Sorry to any readers hoping to throw their names into the hat.<\/p>\n 3. Similar to the regular draft, the selection order is essentially the reverse of the previous season\u2019s standings (more detail here<\/a>), but there\u2019s a big twist: Instead of actually drafting players, teams bid on them. Simpler process when there\u2019s only one guy up for grabs.<\/p>\n 4. Teams bid with their picks from the following year\u2019s draft. Once a team drafts a player in the supplemental draft, it forfeits that pick in the subsequent April. At stake this year are those especially valuable 2027 picks<\/a>.<\/p>\n This time, Brendan Sorsby hoped to be the first supplemental draft pick since 2019.\u00a0The six supplemental picks preceding him:<\/p>\n Browns coach Todd Monken said he doesn\u2019t believe his team was willing to \u201cgo down that road\u201d of drafting Sorsby, and I\u2019m sure many other teams felt similarly. (Then again, Shedeur Sanders wasn\u2019t exactly Plan A<\/a>\u00a0for Cleveland.)<\/p>\n What we\u2019re learning<\/p>\n It\u2019s too early to tell if the Vikings\u2019 quarterback battle will matter for 2026. But I\u2019m not impressed by excuses I\u2019ve heard from Kyler Murray, who Alec Lewis has said<\/a>\u00a0\u201clooked uncomfortable at times.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMe already being behind and not getting the reps that you would typically want a guy to get, learning an offense, is probably the toughest part,\u201d Murray has\u00a0said<\/a>. It should only be a matter of time before the Vikings\u2019 prized free-agent signing wins out over J.J. McCarthy.<\/p>\n As for other\u00a0offseason workout takeaways<\/a>:<\/p>\n Buffalo\u2019s\u00a0new 36-year-old head coach, Joe Brady, wants to be a players\u2019 coach. His players are raving about how much they\u2019re enjoying what staffers have called \u201ca breath of fresh air.\u201d<\/p>\n Chicago\u00a0is focused on improving Caleb Williams\u2019 precision (and thus his completion percentage, which ranked 32nd in 2025). Ben Johnson and staff are grading the location of nearly all of Williams\u2019 workout throws.<\/p>\n Dallas\u00a0has a defense? Jon Machota would be \u201csurprised if (new DC) Christian Parker didn\u2019t have success\u201d in his first year, given how prepared he is and how well the team is responding so far. The league\u2019s second-best offense in 2025 just needs an average defense for a bounce-back year from last year\u2019s 7-9-1 finish.<\/p>\n There is so much\u00a0more on all 32 teams in the full story<\/a>,\u00a0including how strong Jaylen Waddle looks in Denver. \ud83d\udc40<\/p>\n Extra Points<\/p>\n \ud83d\udc40 Happy belated Father\u2019s Day.\u00a0Mike Jones has an incredible story on\u00a0fathers and sons who\u2019ve played in the NFL<\/a>. Six current players even have a grandfather\u00a0and\u00a0father who played in the league. Before you read, can you name any of them?<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcb8 New highest-paid defensive lineman.\u00a0Titans All-Pro DT Jeffery Simmons\u00a0signed a\u00a0three-year extension in Tennessee<\/a>\u00a0with a $35.3 million average.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcfd\u00a0Cam Ward in Year 2.\u00a0Can last year\u2019s top pick continue to improve? Nick Baumgardner looked at the film to see\u00a0how the Tennessee QB can grow as a sophomore<\/a>.<\/p>\n \ud83e\udd85 Nick Sirianni is real.\u00a0Say what you want about the Eagles coach, but don\u2019t call him a phony. Michael Silver has a terrific story about\u00a0one of the league\u2019s most successful leaders<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u25b6\ufe0f\u00a0Thursday\u2019s most-clicked:\u00a0That story on\u00a0the best\/worst NFL uniforms<\/a>, which was my first newsletter-led story to reach the major trending list here at\u00a0The Athletic! So grateful for all the writers\u2019 help on that one. I stand by my Buccaneers take.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udceb Enjoyed this read? Sign up here<\/a> to receive The Athletic\u2019s free NFL newsletter in your inbox. <\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/6e3f11bf98e54d5c944bdc29c9ed89e1-screenshot-2026-06-22-at-22916-pm.png\"\/)
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