NFL: Thompson awaits fate in today's NFL Supplemental Draft

Five players have received eligibility for the 2019 NFL supplemental draft, which will be conducted electronically on Wednesday.

Unlike the regular college draft each April, the supplemental draft is a different operation — one that’s not on TV — that is open to college prospects whose statuses (often academic- or eligibility-related) have changed in the late spring and early summer following the completion of the college draft.

This year’s supplemental class is headlined by two players who could be drafted — Washington State safety Jalen Thompson and West Virginia wide receiver Marcus Simms.

(Players who are not selected can become free agents and sign with any team thereafter.)

The draft is conducted over email with the 32 NFL teams and monitored by the league office. Teams can bid on players by stating which players (if any) they want to draft and the round in which they would be willing to take them.

The order for each round is determined by a semi-lottery where teams are broken up into three groups — teams with six or fewer wins from the season before; non-playoff teams with more than six victories; and playoff teams. Within each group, head-to-head tiebreakers start with the number of victories each team has.

If a team is awarded a player, it loses a corresponding pick the following year. Example: The New York Giants chose Western Michigan CB Sam Beal in the third round of the 2018 supplemental draft and did not have a choice in Round 3 of the 2019 NFL draft. A team cannot attempt to draft a player unless it currently possesses a pick in that corresponding round — i.e. if they have not traded it away already.

Now that we know the rules for Wednesday’s supplemental draft, let’s take a look at the best prospect available:

Washington State DB Jalen Thompson

This is the best prospect available this year, and it might not be that close. Thompson started every game over the past three seasons for the Cougars, playing both safety spots as well as some cornerback in his college career. He was named All-Pac-12 honorable mention last season and was a freshman All-America pick in 2016, named second-team all-conference in 2017 and was almost unanimously listed to preseason publications’ first-team lists this summer before losing his eligibility.

Thompson lost his eligibility, according to the school, for “a violation of NCAA rules.” That violation stemmed from purchasing an over-the-counter supplement from a local nutrition store, per a Spokesman-Review report. It indicated that the illegal supplement was not any type of steroid.

Thompson issued a statement thanking his coaches, teammates and fans, and several of his teammates reciprocated with heartfelt tweets. According to people familiar with the program with whom we’ve spoken, Thompson is well-liked and respected there. His loss is considered a big one for the school, as he was a possible All-America candidate this coming season.

Thompson’s size (he reportedly weighed in at a shade over 5-10 and 186 pounds at his NFL workout Monday) is concerning on the NFL level considering he plays with an aggressive, hard-hitting style. Sometimes that quality works against him, as Thompson can be seen whiffing on some tackles while trying to deliver big blows. He also could have trouble defending bigger receivers for jump balls.

But his athleticism absolutely is NFL-caliber, and Thompson’s versatility will make him an intriguing experiment. Can he handle nickel duties and play inside? It’s possible, even if he needs work. At worst, Thompson would add nice depth to a team at safety and carry the proper mentality to be a special-teams contributor (he forced a fumble on a kickoff return vs. Eastern Washington last season).

Thompson routinely was asked to cover tight ends, backs and slot receivers in man coverage, and he flashed some nice playmaking ability (six interceptions, 16 passes defended the past two seasons), quality makeup speed and good reaction skills and diagnostic ability. Over the past three seasons combined, Thompson has a combined 11 interceptions and fumbles recovered — tied for the most among Pac-12 defenders with Utah’s Chase Hansen.

NFL teams watching Thompson work out at his makeshift pro day on Monday at Downey (Calif.) High School saw the good (40 time as low as 4.46 seconds and a 6.98-second three-cone drill) and the bad (average to below-average numbers in other testing drills, plus the measurements, which put him on the lower end of the size spectrum).

Without the same prep time as draft prospects who spend months adding strength and shaving time off their drills, Thompson’s performance must be graded on a slight scale. He was considered one of the fastest Cougars players heading into this season before he left the program.

Possible draft range: Third to fifth round.