Yesterday Dane Brugler announced that the NFL is bringing back the Supplemental Draft this year and that there is at least one prospect that has asked for (and been granted) eligibility. The conditions are nearly perfect for the Tennessee Titans to take a swing on the potential playmaker.
When you talk about the Tennessee Titans' potential plans in the 2024 NFL Draft, you really can't get overly excited. After trading the team's 2024 third-round pick to move up to get Will Levis in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Tennessee Titans now only have a first-, second-, and fourth-round pick as well as two picks in the seventh round.
Like any draft, the premium picks will do the heavy lifting in that class while the Day 3 picks will be based around adding depth and players that fit the scheme that other teams might not value as highly.
What if there was a prospect in this upcoming supplemental draft that could be a great fit for what the Tennessee Titans will probably look for on Day 3 next year? Why wouldn't they pull the trigger and add the guy a year early?
The Tennessee Titans are primed to draft a receiver in the supplemental draft
Imagine a world where the Titans actually end up with DeAndre Hopkins right before training camp. At that point, the wide receiver depth chart becomes crystal clear.
Hopkins and Treylon Burks are your X and your Z receivers on the outside with Kyle Philips in the slot, and Nick Westrbook-Ikhine as the jack-of-all-trades WR4 that can play all three positions in a pinch.
With that solved, it would be a fantastic idea to try to find a way to build some long-term stability at the receiver position instead of living year-to-year filling out the depth chart with warm bodies. That finally brings me to the only prospect that has been confirmed as eligible for the supplemental draft, Milton Wright.
UPDATE: Supplemental Draft is scheduled for Tuesday, July 11.
— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) June 16, 2023
Prospects must apply with the league office for eligibility. Milton Wright has been approved. https://t.co/PVQp0s4vp5
Wright was a two-year starter for Purdue and when he got a chance to start the whole season in 2021, he didn't disappoint. He was the second-most productive receiver on that Boilermakers team with 732 yards and 7 touchdowns.
Given his level of production on an offense that featured David Bell (WR drafted in the third round in 2022) and Payne Durham (TE drafted in the fifth round in 2023), his NFL frame (listed at 6'3, 195 lb.), and his experience as a special teams player, you might ask why he is entering the supplemental draft.
Well, Wright was ruled academically ineligible before the 2022 season and after considering the transfer portal he decided to see if there was a path to the NFL immediately.
Assuming that he finds a way to organize a Pro Day, we will know a little bit more about his athleticism and what his medicals look like before the Supplemental Draft on July 11th. If he checks off those boxes, it is hard to understand why the Tennessee Titans shouldn't strongly consider using one of their seventh-round picks on Wright.
Obviously, this isn't a pitch to spend anything more than a seventh-round pick on Wright, and the expectations for him need to be realistic. This is just a chance for the Titans to add a wide receiver that can be on the game-day roster because of his experience on special teams who also has the size and production to suggest that he might be someone that can replace NWI for cheap next season.