The National Football League handed out 33 compensatory picks for the upcoming 2016 NFL draft.
It’s an annual addition for teams that lost more key free agents then they signed the previous off-season. Teams tend to look at the compensatory formula as a way to build depth on their rosters. It’s also an aspect of free agency that isn’t forgotten by organizations as they embark on free agency itself.
Teams such as the New England Patriots, San Francisco 49ers, Green Bay Packers, Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers usually find themselves with multiple compensatory picks.
Their lack of action in free agency coupled with an unwillingness to overpay for their own players leads to this.
Compensatory picks are handed out between the third and seventh rounds. The level of performance of departed free agents coupled with the performance of players added dictates in which round each pick lands.
San Francisco, New England and the Dallas Cowboys lead the pack with four compensatory picks this year.
San Francisco’s selections come in the fourth, fifth and sixth (two) rounds. Meanwhile, the Patriots will receive a pick in the third as well as three sixth-round picks. The Cowboys will have one selection in the fourth and three more in the sixth.
A total of four compensatory picks were handed out in the third round to Detroit, New England, Seattle and Denver. That’s followed by nine picks in the fourth round, sixth in the fifth round and 14 in the sixth round.
Current players selected with compensatory picks include Tom Brady, Marques Colston, Pierre Garcon and Antoine Bethea.