Diamonds in the rough

This year's NFL supplemental draft will be held on July 13, with each team capable of using one of their 2007 draft choices to obtain the rights of any players deemed eligible for selection.

A year ago, the Miami Dolphins used a sixth-round draft choice to pick former USC defensive tackle Manuel Wright, but past supplemental drafts dating back as far as the late 1980s have seen the likes of Brian Bosworth (Seattle), Steve Walsh (Dallas), Timm Rosenbach (Phoenix), Rob Moore (N.Y. Jets), Dave Brown (N.Y. Giants), Tony Hollings (Houston) and Jamal Williams (San Diego) selected.

This additional process is held to accommodate players that were not eligible for the April draft but, for various reasons (academic, injury, off-field or NCAA rulings), have now requested "special" entry to the supplemental draft.

Teams are divided into three groups, those that had six or fewer wins followed by the rest of the non-postseason teams and the 12 playoff clubs. The weighted system allows teams with the worst records to have better odds of selecting the eligible prospects.

As of June 1, the official paperwork had not been processed for any of the potential prospects for this year's supplemental draft, according to Kevin Fernandez, who helps review the requests at the NFL office. In order for any NFL team to have contact or observe a "pro day" type workout by a potential prospect, all of the player's paperwork must be filed with the league. Before any such evaluation can take place, eligibility must be confirmed and all 32 teams must be alerted.

This year's supplemental draft may have a handful of interesting prospects available for selection. Here's a look at the top candidates:

Ahmad Brooks, linebacker, Virginia – Brooks is clearly the most high-profile player in the group, as he was a freshman All-American before falling on hard times due to some off-field issues and injuries. He missed six games with a right knee injury last season, so he decided to return to the Cavaliers for his senior campaign only to be suspended and then dismissed from the program for violating unspecified team rules. After deciding to sign with agent Gregory Williams, Brooks made his way to train at Chip Smith's CES facility in Atlanta.

The former All-ACC linebacker has been with the well-known personal trainer for roughly two months, entering the program at nearly 285 pounds but weighing in at a much-improved 268 pounds earlier this week with a final goal of 260 to 265 pounds for his upcoming workout.

"It was all about accountability with him," Smith said of Brooks, who has admitted to making errors in judgment. "[I] told him the first day that he needed to be on time and ready to work. … If not, he could pack his stuff and go home."

Smith will be in attendance for Brooks' June 22 pro day workout, which will also feature Cavaliers head coach Al Groh as well as other members of Virginia's defensive coaching staff. Brooks is aiming to run in the 4.5-second range, bench-press 225 pounds 22 to 25 times and jump in the mid-30s (inches) for his vertical leap as well as show greater dedication to his conditioning by weighing in at 265 pounds.

"[He] has obvious talents. … quick first step, excellent size, ability to play in the middle or strong-side. … [I would] even like using him as a rush end in some situations," said one longtime NFL evaluator who has scouted the Mid-Atlantic region for over 20 years.

"You can make some comparisons to guys like Pepper Johnson or Levon Kirkland in terms of size and potential," added the talent evaluator, "but this kid could be a step faster in terms of straight-line speed. … He has all the tools to become a solid NFL starter, but he's had some issues that need to be addressed."

Most believe that, even though Brooks has "first day" ability, he will likely slide to the fourth or fifth round if all goes well at his private workout and interviews.

Jason Berryman, defensive end/outside linebacker, Iowa State – After Brooks, Berryman is most likely to be drafted. He has shown pass rush potential off the edge in the Big 12, recording 12 tackles and five sacks and being named MVP of the 2005 EV1.net Houston Bowl, but he also dealt with several off-field issues, including being dismissed from the team after being cited at a local night club for being on the premises underage. Berryman had previously been suspended from Iowa State's team for the 2004 season after being convicted of theft and assault charges. He served 258 days in jail, but had seemingly turned the corner before his late January run-in at the club.

A Houston native, Berryman has been training on-campus in Ames, Iowa, and announced this week that his pro day workout will be held on June 13. He is being closely evaluated by teams that employ the 3-4 scheme, as his 6-foot-3, 250-pound frame and explosive up-field rush skills could make him an ideal fit as an edge rusher. He has also hired former IMG rep Ken Kremer, who now works for CAA Sports, as his player representative.

David Dixon, linebacker, Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College – Dixon, who was one of the top-rated defenders in the junior college ranks, failed to qualify academically at Kansas State, but he is noted for his speed and athleticism, running in the 4.4 range, leaping between 42 to 44 inches in the vertical jump and bench-pressing over 450 pounds. He had 161 tackles, including a total of 43 tackles behind the line of scrimmage, 8½ sacks and five blocked kicks, which gave him a total of 10 in just two years.

"He's the best athlete I have ever seen at this level", said longtime NFL scout Tom Marino of Dixon. "He's just not big into school work, but he has all the instincts, physical tools and natural talent to become a starting linebacker in the NFL one day."

Dixon just turned 21 years old this past February, so combined with his eye-opening workout numbers, impressive natural size (6-2, 245 pounds) and on-field talents, he should warrant a lot of consideration if he gains eligibility to July's draft.

Others that could receive access to next month's supplemental draft:

Joel Statham, quarterback, Maryland – He started most of the 2004 season before trying to transfer to Jacksonville State, a Division I-AA program.

David Boler, wide receiver, Delaware – The former Pac-10 transfer with over 2,000 career receiving yards recently lost his bid for a sixth year of NCAA eligibility.

Lee Gray, offensive tackle, Iowa – He also was denied a sixth year of NCAA eligibility.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=jm-supplemental060606&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Supplemental Character

The 2006 Supplemental Draft will feature two outside linebacker prospects with serious character questions in Ahmad Brooks of Virginia and Jason Berryman of Iowa State. Of the two, Brooks should be selected in the second or third round, while Berryman may not be selected at all. In the long run, Berryman may turn out to have been better value as an undrafted free agent, compared to the second or third given for Brooks.

Berryman spent all of 2004 out of football and in jail for eight months after getting into a campus fight that saw Jason decking an Iowa State student, then stealing his wallet (which contained four dollars) and another student's cell phone. Prior to the incident, he was already on probation for kicking out the glass of his girlfriend's back window.

Prior to his unprecedented acceptance back onto the team, he held ten face-to-face meetings with the head coach, which saw him agreeing to an extremely rigid behavioral contract. The agreement forced him to attend summer school at his own expense, attend anger management classes, and follow each and every team rule (on and off the field) with the consequence of breaking one of them being dismissal.

After a successful year back in the program that saw him staying out of trouble and finishing the season with 3.5 sacks against TCU in the Houston Bowl, Berryman ran into trouble again. He was caught on a Saturday night inside a local night club with a myriad of other Iowa State students, and given a citation by police officers for being inside a club while under legal drinking age. The incident occurred a mere three weeks before his 21st birthday. The head coach wanted to dismiss the incident instead of the player, but the contract gave him little choice.

As a defensive end Berryman is undersized at 6'2" and 240 pounds. He plays like a pursuit linebacker, having tallied 182 total tackles in 24 games, which works out to about 7.5 tackles per game. He also notched 20 tackles for loss, 10.5 sacks, 27 quarterback hurries, 2 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles, and 2 fumble recoveries during that period. His jaw-dropping performance against TCU in what turned out to be his final game led defensive coordinator John Skladany to call him "amazing," and labeled Berryman's game "as good a performance as you are ever going to see."

Talent-wise, Ahmad Brooks is the far superior pick, and his Supplemental Draft standing should reflect that talent advantage. However, with the significant character questions surrounding Brooks' dismissal for a laundry list of misdeeds (which includes legal trouble, positive drug tests, as well as both weight and attitude issues) there is a very real question as to whether he will ever give himself the opportunity to display his significant talents on the field on a consistent basis.

Berryman displayed a very clear pattern of anger management issues at Iowa State, and was taught a very hard lesson with eight months in jail. He has not displayed any signs of anger management issues since his release from prison. The anger management classes he agreed to take as a stipulation of his reinstatement may have made a difference. In this case, the straw that broke the camel's back was for simply being at a club with a bunch of teammates three weeks before turning 21 years of age. The citation did not even note that he was drinking at the club, just that he was there.

Neither Berryman's work ethic nor his weight control have been questioned; only his ability to stay out of trouble off the field has come into question. This leads me to believe that Berryman represents a smaller character risk than Brooks, who has had significant off field incidents as well as work ethic and weight control issues. In the end, this should give Berryman a better chance than Brooks at displaying his football talents at the NFL level.

Of course, this all depends on what kind of workout numbers both Berryman and Brooks are able to put up at their respective pro days. My crystal ball is not good enough to provide guidance on those measurables.

Well if the Lions stay true to their "no more real bad character guys" statement, then a lot of the worthwhile guys in a supplemental draft aren't going to be "eligible" to be picked by us anyway.

Three more players added to supplemental draft

The NFL has added three more players to its supplemental draft, raising to seven the number of prospects available to teams in the Thursday summertime lottery.

Of the three additions, the prospect who arguably has the best chance of being selected is North Carolina State running back/wide receiver Richard Washington, who was dismissed from the Wolfpack program in February 2005 and did not play at any college last season. The other players accepted into the supplemental draft were Texas defensive tackle Marco Martin and Connecticut offensive lineman Craig Berry.

Those three join Texas fullback Ahmard Hall and linebackers Ahmad Brooks of Virginia, Jason Berryman of Iowa State and David Dixon of Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College.

Brooks remains the one player of the group all but certain to be selected.

Washington is an undersized (5-foot-11, 166 pounds) offensive utility player who lacks top-end speed, but who might be able to make a roster as a fourth or fifth receiver and special-teams player. In two college seasons, Washington caught 73 passes for 848 yards and eight touchdowns. Washington also carried 12 times for 133 yards and returned one punt for six yards.

While he plays a little faster than his pedestrian stopwatch speeds, Washington's lack of explosiveness is a concern to scouts. But he does have solid enough receiving skills. Washington was ineligible his freshman season, so has only played in two of the last four years.

At 6-6, 324 pounds, Berry has good size but his footwork his reportedly suspect and he needs work on blocking techniques. He played in 29 games in three seasons, starting at right guard in 2004 and then right tackle in 2005.

A highly-recruited player in high school, Martin had a difficult time getting onto the field for the talented Longhorns defense and he also suffered from weight issues.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2515301