NFL teams will allow certain players to walk in free agency and make strategic moves to maximize what compensatory picks they will receive in the upcoming NFL Draft. Now, Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane is revealing how his team and the San Francisco 49ers got a “raw deal” from the league office this year.
Mistakes are sometimes made when the NFL is calculating its compensatory picks for the upcoming draft. While the formula is kept in-house, Nick Korte of Over The Cap has accurately projected compensatory picks for NFL teams in recent years.
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When the NFL announced its 2024 compensatory picks in early March, Korte noticed what seemed to be mistakes made by the league based on their historical cutoff point for awarding picks in certain rounds. Among the errors made by the NFL Management Council were third-round picks that should’ve been awarded to the 49ers (Mike McGlinchey or Jimmy Garoppolo) and Bills (Tremaine Edmunds).
The NFL admitted some of its mistakes and corrected them a few days later. However, San Francisco and Buffalo were not part of those corrections. Speaking at the NFL Owners Meetings this week, Beane explained why he believes his team and the 49ers got a “raw deal” from the league.
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“It did surprise me. I think us and San Francisco, we got a raw deal. We had separate Zooms with the league trying to go through how it was calculated, because by even their accounts, as we were checking with them through the year, we clearly had a third-rounder…It’s with all the conversions, the voids and things like that. Numbers that are not really numbers.”
Brandon Beane on San Francisco 49ers, Buffalo Bills not receiving third-round compensatory picks
As Beane noted, NFL teams check with the league office throughout the year to make sure they are still on track to receive specific compensatory picks. That knowledge allows a general manager to shape their plan in the NFL Draft, knowing what resources they’ll have at their disposal for picks and trading.
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As a result, Buffalo and San Francisco went through the season understanding they would receive third-round compensatory picks in the 2024 NFL Draft because of the free agents lost last offseason. Instead, they learned that was not the case, with both teams instead they received a late fourth-round pick.
“It was a major blow because we had planned for that and I know San Fran felt the same way.”
Buffalo Bills general maanger Brandon Beane
Unfortunately for Buffalo and San Francisco, the NFL’s decision is made and the fact that it already corrected mistakes for other teams suggests a change isn’t coming for the Bills or 49ers. Considering both teams are especially reliant on draft picks in the coming years due to a tight salary cap, it’s an even bigger blow for both front offices.
