The Chicago Bears concluded their primary off-season work with the NFL draft in April. Most fans felt the team’s last opportunity to maybe add two or three more pieces to the roster would come during final roster cuts in August when the team held the top spot in the waiver wire. However, it appears an unexpected development may offer GM Ryan Poles an additional opportunity. The league is set to reinstate the Supplemental Draft for the first time in four years.
Players usually enter the supplementary draft because they missed the filing deadline for the main NFL draft or because issues developed which affected their eligibility, such as academic or disciplinary matters. While not a hotbed of stars over the years, it’s produced some good players. Cris Carter, Bernie Kosar, Rob Moore, Josh Gordon, and Ahmad Brooks are some examples. It isn’t clear how many players will make themselves available on July 11th when the draft takes place, but one name is already approved.
The Chicago Bears can always use more help at WR.
Milton Wright is a fascinating story. He was a backup receiver through his first two seasons at Purdue but had a breakthrough in 2021 with 732 yards and seven touchdowns. It looked like he was primed for a big year in 2022. Top receiver David Bell was gone. Wright was ready to become that #1 guy. Then an academic issue caused him to be declared ineligible, forcing him to miss the season. Rather than extend his college career by transferring, he sought a different path to the NFL. That is where the supplemental draft came in.
The kid is reported to be 6’3, 200 lbs with somewhere in the vicinity of 4.5 speed. That is a solid combination. He was also playing his best football at the end of 2021. People should go watch the 213-yard, 3-TD performance he hung on Northwestern in late November. The Chicago Bears will hold a top spot in every round of the supplemental draft. Poles likes bigger targets. It couldn’t hurt to give Wright a look. He certainly has the talent you look for in a future productive NFL receiver.
The Bears have only utilized this draft once in their history, selecting fullback Harvey Unga in 2010. So it would be quite a story if they broke that streak next month.
