NFL Supplemental Draft Today - Rumors of Terrelle Pryor to Dolphins Still Flying

At 1pm today, the NFL will hold the 2011 Supplemental Draft. The rumors and speculation of Terrelle Pryor becoming a Dolphin today continue to float around the internet, TV, and radio. With all the speculation, we need one more time to look at the possibility of Pryor coming to Miami.

Twice we have voted here on The Phinsider about the Dolphins going after Pryor. The first vote, back on August 9th, say 1,884 votes cast, with a 52% majority saying the Dolphins should get Pryor (992 votes to 892 votes).

The second vote, after the league declared him eligible for the Supplemental Draft, saw The Phinsider readers lean just a little more toward gaining Pryor's services, with the total 1118 votes being split 623 for (55%) and 495 against.

Today is the day that we find out how the Miami Dolphins feel.

Miami was one of 17 teams represented at Pryor's Pro-Day workout, including the Pittsburgh Steelers, Indianapolis Colts, Washington Redskins, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Dallas Cowboys, San DIego Chargers, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Philadelphia Eagles, Oakland Raiders, Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs, San Francisco 49ers, and New England Patriots.

The most appealing piece for the drafting of Pryor came from his Pro Day. He ran a 40-yard dash in 4.36 seconds, leading many to speculate that teams may want to move him from quarterback to tight end or wide receiver.

When asked if he would be okay with a position change, Pryor responded, "I would like the opportunity to play quarterback, but I'll do anything a team needs me to do to win."

Whatever team does take Pryor, they will have to wait at least until mid-October before they can put Pryor on the field. Due to his breaking the "integrity of the eligibility rules," the NFL has suspended Pryor for his first five NFL games. Pryor's suspension actually is not related to his well-documented troubles at Ohio State - at least not directly.

Pryor was suspended from the NCAA for Ohio State's first five games this upcoming season for illegal benefits - he traded memorabilia for tattoos. He eventually decided to leave school, rather than deal with the suspension and any further fallout from a scandal that ultimately led to the resignation of the Buckeyes' Head Coach Jim Tressel. In making that decision, Pryor hired an agent to prepare for his entrance to the league.

And that's where his ineligibility to continue NCAA football begins. Up until the moment Pryor hired Drew Rosenhaus as his agent, he was still had NCAA eligibility remaining. For an underclassman to become eligible for the NFL Supplemental Draft, he has to have lost his eligibility to continue paying NCAA football. This NCAA ineligibility is typically academic, or some other rules violation.

What the NFL does not want to see happen is a rash of underclassmen hiring agents to purposely lose their NCAA eligibility and therefore qualify for the Supplemental Draft. This is where the NFL decided they needed to suspend Pryor. If they put a penalty for hiring an agent to purposely lose eligibility from NCAA football, maybe they can make other players think twice before they join the league.

The NFL Supplmental Draft is conducted in a method similar to the NBA's lottery draft. Teams are broken into groups, and then they draw for their drafting position. To understand the system better, check out this article by Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio.

The NFL Supplemental Draft has seen several quarterbacks come through its system, most notably Super Bowl Champion and former Browns, Cowboys, and Dolphins quarterback Bernie Kosar. Every quarterback selected in the Supplemental Draft has been done using a first round pick - but a first round selection hasn't been used in the Supplemental Draft since 1993, when the NFL changed the draft rules.

Don't expect Pryor to change that. Prior to his workout, Pryor was expected to be a 5-7 round choice. Following the Pro Day, he has been elevated to a possible third round choice.

Joining Pryor as potential draftees in Monday's event are former Georgia running back Caleb King, Northern Illinois safety Tracy Wilson, Western Carolina cornerback Torez Jones, Lindenwood University defensive end Keenan Mace, and North Carolina defensive end Michael McAdoo.