Doling Out Compensatory Draft Picks

The NFL awarded the compensatory picks yesterday. Only 13 teams received the 33 picks. These picks are awarded to teams that lost more or better compensatory free agents than they gained in the previous year. Compensatory free agents are determined by a secret formula that is based on salary, playing time, and postseason honors. These picks fall between rounds 3-6. For the first time teams will be permitted to trade these picks. Fun times. Here are the 13 teams that will receive the 33 compensatory picks.

Detroit Lions: 3rd round (95), 6th round (210)

New England Patriots: 3rd round (96), 6th round (208), 6th round (214), 6th round (221)

Seattle Seahawks: 3rd round (97), 5th round (171), 6th round (215)

Denver Broncos: 3rd round (98), 4th round (136), 6th round (219)

Green Bay Packers: 4th round (131), 4th round (137)

Baltimore Ravens: 4th round (132), 4th round (134), 6th round (209)

San Francisco 49ers: 4th round (133), 5th round (174), 6th round (211), 6th round (213)

Dallas Cowboys: 4th round (135), 6th round (212), 6th round (216), 6th round (217)

Cleveland Browns: 4th round (138), 5th round (172), 5th round (173)

Buffalo Bills: 4th round (139), 6th round (218)

Arizona Cardinals: 5th round (170)

San Diego Chargers: 5th round (175)

Pittsburgh Steelers: 6th round (220)

I really think that the age of the compensatory picks should come to an end. It just doesn't feel right for teams to be rewarded for not keeping their players. I know that it isn't always as simple as that but it usually does come down to just that. It feels even less right for teams to be rewarded for other teams overspending for the players. Far more often than not the players that do jump to new teams fail to help their new teams. Teams that "win" in March rarely win during the season. And teams are being rewarded for the foolish actions of others in March. Perhaps my feelings on this is simply sour grapes because the Minnesota Vikings rarely receive any of these extra picks. That's because they have been pretty good at signing their own free agents. We'll see if they can continue to sign their own as the talent level on the team increases. A team can only maintain a certain amount of top talent under the salary cap.

And then there's this. The NFL should can the compensatory picks because they really mess up my draft order.