Tavares Bingham, a defensive end from Georgia Military College, and Marques Rodgers, a running back from Western New Mexico University, were marked as eligible for the 2017 NFL Supplemental Draft, reports Rob Rang of NFLDraftScout.com.
These two athletes missed the deadline to declare their draft eligibility, but are no longer able to compete for a college team (often for disciplinary, academic, or family reasons). The supplemental draft offers them a chance to join an NFL roster in time for training camp. Supplemental draft selections are rare; in 40 years of Supplemental Drafts, only 43 names have been drafted. That can be attributed in part to the NFL's rules for the event:
Teams are ordered via a lottery system based on their records in the previous season. The Bills, with a 7-9 record and a finish outside of the playoffs, will be placed in the second grouping of teams, somewhere between the Nos. 10 and 20 picks. Once the order is set, teams are allowed to bid a draft pick in a specific round on any players they want to draft. If a player is bid upon, the team who submitted the highest bid is awarded the player, and sacrifices the corresponding round's pick in the next year's draft.
With the inherent risk in the supplemental draft (submitting a pick for a player doesn't necessarily award him to a team, and all of the players in the event carry different flaws or character concerns that aren't as prevalent in the spring event), it's understandable that so few players are picked. The most recent selection was Clemson tackle Isaiah Battle in 2015, and before him was wide receiver Josh Gordon in 2012.
The 5’10” 175 pound Rodgers was named RMAC Freshman of the Year after rushing for 1296 yards and six touchdowns in 2014. In 2015, he rushed for 1283 yards and ten touchdowns, and added 61 receptions as he was named to the Division II All-America second team. He played a hybrid receiving back role for the Mustangs. In 2016, Rodgers was academically ineligible to play for WNMU, and he elected to enter the NFL rather than play his senior season in 2017.
Standing 6’4” 290 pounds, Bingham has grown quite a bit from the 235 pound freshman recruit to Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. He signed with GMC, but did not play for them in 2016. Bingham plays defensive end.
Neither player is expected to garner a draft pick in the upcoming event.