NFL Awards 32 Compensatory Draft Picks to 14 Teams
The NFL awarded 32 compensatory draft picks to 14 different teams at the annual owner’s meetings on Monday in Arizona.
The Cincinnati Bengals, New England Patriots, and Kansas City Chiefs each received a third round draft pick as compensation for lost free agents last offseason.
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The Bengals watched Michael Johnson flock to the Buccaneers for a year on a humongous contract before he was released this offseason and actually ended up returning to the Bengals. So, for one year without Johnson, the Bengals received a third round pick and got him at a way cheaper price than they otherwise would have.
Not bad.
The Patriots watched Aqib Talib bolt for the Broncos, but they replaced him with Darrelle Revis who was cut by the Buccaneers. They ended up winning the Super Bowl as a not so indirect result of that move, and they receive a third round pick as compensation.
The Chiefs lost Branden Albert to the Miami Dolphins last offseason, and that earned them a third round pick but also severely hindered their offensive line play last year.
The official release by the NFL says this about compensatory picks:
“Under the rules for compensatory draft selections, a team losing more or better compensatory free agents than it acquires in the previous year is eligible to receive compensatory draft picks.
The number of picks a team receives equals the net loss of compensatory free agents up to a maximum of four. The 32 compensatory choices announced today will supplement the 224 choices in the seven rounds of the 2015 NFL Draft held on April 30-May 2 in Chicago.”
The Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos, and Seattle Seahawks each received the maximum of four compensatory picks this year, while other teams simply scored on multiple high picks, like the Bengals. The Baltimore Ravens, who annually have some of the best success with compensatory picks, received two fourth round picks and a fifth round pick.
Not bad.
You can view the full list of compensatory picks here.