The Giants and the Supplemental Draft Have a Complicated History

From Dave Brown to Sam Beal, Big Blue's three picks in the supplemental draft range from forgettable to flat-out cursed.

Sep 28, 1997; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; FILE PHOTO; New York Giants quarterback Dave Brown (17) in action against the New Orleans Saints at Giants Stadium. | Lou Capozzola-Imagn Images

The NFL is planning to hold a supplemental draft this year, of which only one player, Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby, is expected to enter.

The supplemental draft, for those not familiar, is held at the league’s discretion in July for those players who either lost their NCAA eligibility or missed the declaration deadline for the annual regular draft.  

The New York Giants, who already have Jaxson Dart as their franchise signal-caller, are not expected to exercise a pick on Sorsby if he is approved to partake in the supplemental draft by the league.

A history of mixed results

The supplemental draft is held via email and doesn’t garner anywhere near the attention of the annual draft. Teams that make a pick require them to forfeit the corresponding pick in the following year’s draft.

From a league-wide perspective, the juice hasn’t been worth the squeeze, though some picks have gone on to pay off for their teams, such as quarterback Bernie Kosar (Browns), running back Bobby Humphrey (Broncos), receiver Rob Moore (Jets), tackle Mike Wahle (Packers), and Hall of Fame receiver Cris Carter (Vikings).

The Giants? They’ve made three picks since the supplemental draft began in 1977 with mixed results.  

QB Dave Brown (1992)

Oct 1, 1995; San Francisco, CA, USA; FILE PHOTO; New York Giants quarterback Dave Brown (17) throws the ball against the San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park. | Peter Brouillet-Imagn Images

The Giants’ first-ever pick in the supplemental draft, Brown had a year of eligibility remaining when he graduated from Duke University but had missed the deadline to declare for the main draft.

Meanwhile, the Giants, whose long-time quarterback Phil Simms was nearing the end of his career, saw Brown as a highly touted prospect and potential replacement for Simms, with then general manager George Young thinking so highly of Brown that he used a first-round pick on Brown.

He, a 6-foot-5, 230-pound Brown, spent six of his ten NFL seasons with the Giants, finishing his career with the Cardinals. In his first two seasons, he was limited to just three games, all of which were in relief of Simms, who was still on the roster.

In 1994, the Giants moved on from Simms and handed the keys to Brown, who, after posting a 9-6 record in his first full season as a starter, saw things go downhill from here.

Brown, the last player on whom a team used a first-round pick in the supplemental draft, ended his Giants career having appeared in 57 games with 53 starts.

He completed 766 of 1,391 pass attempts (55.1% completion rate) for 8,808 yards and 40 touchdowns, and had 49 interceptions.  

Brown was eventually cut by the team, which had Kent Graham, an eighth-round draft pick by the Giants in 1992, and Danny Kanell, the team’s fourth-round pick in 1996, on the roster.

S Tito Wooten (1994)

Sep 28, 1997; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; FILE PHOTO; New York Giants safety Tito Wooten (29) celebrates after a play against the New Orleans Saints at Giants Stadium. | Lou Capozzola-Imagn Images

The Giants tried their luck again in the supplemental draft two years later on safety Tito Wooten, a prospect out of Northwest Louisiana.

Wooten’s career was arguably the most productive of the Giants’ three supplemental picks made to date.

The defensive back played five seasons with the Giants before ending his career with the Colts in 1999.

While with Big Blue, Wooten appeared in 75 games with 46 starts, recording 296 tackles, seven interceptions (one for a touchdown), a forced fumble, and three fumble recoveries.

Wooten’s biggest vice, though, was his maturity, which raised questions about his ability to sustain a long NFL career. He also ran into some off-field issues, including an alleged simple assault charge.

The Giants ended up cutting him in 1999 to save $1.1 million on their salary cap, and they would run with Shaun Williams, their first-round pick in 1998, and Percy Ellsworth as their safeties.

CB Sam Beal (2018)

New York Giants cornerback Sam Beal (23) warms up before his Giants debut against the New York Jets on Sunday, Nov. 10, 2019, in East Rutherford. | Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com, North Jersey Record via Imagn Content Services, LLC

The Giants took a long hiatus from making a selection in the supplemental draft, breaking that streak in 2018 when they chose Western Michigan cornerback Sam Beal, who had been declared academically ineligible, in the third round of the supplemental draft.

"We feel like we're getting our third-round pick now," then-general manager Dave Gettleman said in a statement, adding, "We're very, very excited about getting Sam in the draft."

Unfortunately, that excitement quickly waned as Beal’s career with Big Blue seemed hexed right from the start. He suffered a shoulder injury in his first training camp with the team that caused him to miss his entire rookie campaign.

The following year, he landed on IR with a hamstring injury to start the season, but was activated on November 5 and appeared in six games with three starts.

In 2020, he opted out of the season due to the COVID pandemic.

Beal’s final year with the Giants was in 2021, when he started the season on the roster only to be waived late in the year and signed to the practice squad, Beal having appeared in just three games.

Beal, who has been missing for nearly a year, ended up appearing in just nine games with three starts for the Giants, recording one pass breakup and 27 tackles. 

Sign up for our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X for the latest news, and send your mailbag questions to us.