NFL Supplemental Draft Just Excuse for Teams to Reach on Terrelle Pryor

The 2011 NFL offseason will go down as one of the most memorable and intriguing of any.

Terrelle Pryor could turn out to be the most intriguing and memorable move of the year. Pryor has seemingly found the perfect home with the Oakland Raiders, but should there even have been a Supplemental Draft this year? Was it not just an excuse to avoid a lawsuit from Pryor, who didn't exactly qualify for the whole process?

Pryor had his controversies at Ohio State and was facing a suspension for the 2011-12 NCAA football season. That suspension has now carried over into the NFL (anyone want to explain that one?), but that doesn't qualify him for the Supplemental Draft.

The Supplemental Draft is for players that were ruled ineligible after the cut-off point to declare for the NFL draft. Pryor may have been caught up in a difficult situation, but he would have been eligible to play for Ohio State last season. If anything, Pryor should have been allowed to enter the NFL as a free agent without having to go through this draft process.

The Supplemental Draft only actually forced teams to reach for Pryor and give up a draft pick in order to acquire him.

He should have been allowed to visit with teams and work out for teams properly as a free agent would have.

This process has hurt both sides because the franchise that ultimately acquired Pryor would have rushed their evaluations of him with the draft coming at this awkward time of the year. Obviously they would have scouted Pryor throughout college, but the scouting combine and individual workouts held for rookies every year are held for good reason.

The fact that the Oakland Raiders had to give up a third-round pick—not having a fourth—for Pryor without seeing him go through the proper evaluating process is ludicrous.

The Supplemental Draft only served a simple purpose of making things difficult for both team and player in order for the NFL to attempt to save some face in its public relations.