Eagles Supplemental Draft History Gives Clue Into Potential Brendan Sorsby Interest

Whether the Philadelphia Eagles are interested in Brendan Sorsby or not, there's plenty of reasons to consider the possibility.

The QB2 situation is in flux after this year, and Sorsby is a first-round talent. He would have been a first-round pick if he was eligible for the draft this year, perhaps even taken over Ty Simpson.

That talent is hard to pass up, even with all the baggage that surrounded Sorsby in his college career. If the Eagles could get a player like Sorsby in the supplemental draft, at the expense of a second-round pick, it may be worth the gamble.

The Eagles have gambled on players in the supplemental draft before, even landing arguably the greatest defensive player of all time in the process.

They landed two Pro Football Hall Of Famers in the supplemental draft, so the Eagles have a history of getting these picks right.

Eagles supplemental draft picks

1984: Reggie White

The NFL decided to have a supplemental draft of their own in 1984 in order to compete with the rising USFL, a bidding war of sorts for players that already committed to the USFL or CFL. In case the USFL collapsed, teams held the rights to the players from this supplemental draft.

Teams didn't have to part ways with a first-round pick -- or any round -- in this draft. This allowed the Eagles to take White with the No. 4 overall pick in this draft.

White played in 1984 with the Memphis Showboats, not making his debut with the Eagles until 1985. He arguably became the greatest defensive player in NFL history.

White finished his career with 198 sacks, the most in NFL history when he retired in 2000. He finished with 12 double-digit sack seasons, including nine straight to start his career -- which is an NFL record.

White earned eight first-team All-Pro selections and made 13 Pro Bowls in his 15 seasons -- all of which were in a row from 1986 to 1998. He earned two Defensive Player of the Year awards and led the NFL in sacks twice. White has the most sacks ever for a player after his first 10 seasons (145). He also made the 1980s and 1990s All-Decade teams.

He owns the NFL record with most sacks per game in NFL history (0.85) among players who have played at least 200 games, leading Lawrence Taylor in that category (0.79). White averaged an astonishing 1.02 sacks per game in his career with the Eagles -- 124 sacks in 121 games.

The Eagles hit a home run with White, all thanks to the supplemental draft.

1984: Darryl Goodlow

Goodlow never played a down for the Eagles, only playing two games in his NFL career -- as a replacement player during the strike-shortened season in 1987. The Eagles selected Goodlow in the secodn round of the 1984 supplemental draft.

1984: Thomas Carter

Carter never played an NFL snap, playing two seasons in the USFL for Arizona and Oakland. The Eagles took him in the third round of the supplemental draft in 1984.

1986: Charles Crawford

The Eagles took Crawford in the 1986 supplemental draft, using a seventh-round bid to get him. He played two seasons for the Eagles, having 28 carries for 88 yards and a touchdown -- 3.1 yards per carry.

He played the first two games in 1987, then never logged an NFL snap again.

1987: Cris Carter

The Eagles netted another Hall of Famer in the supplemental draft, only this one had a Hall of Fame career with the Minnesota Vikings. Carter was a fourth-round pick in the 1987 Supplemental Draft and played for the Eagles for three seasons.

The NCAA ruled Carter ineligible for his senior season at Ohio State due to issues involving an agent, and the Eagles took a chance on him. carter had 89 catches for 1,450 yards and 19 touchdowns in three seasons with the Eagles.

Alcohol and drug abuse led to his release from the Eagles, leading to a falling out with then head coach Buddy Ryan. Carter credits Ryan for saving his life.

With the Vikings, Carter had eight consecutive1,000-yard seasons and five consecutive double-digit touchdown seasons. He finished with 12,383 yards and 110 touchdowns in his 12 seasons with the Vikings -- making three All-Pro teams and eight Pro Bowls.

Carter is one of the greatest wide receivers ever, and the Eagles first took the chance on him in the supplemental draft.

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