It’s not a well-publicized aspect of the annual NFL Owners Meeting or its effect upon the overall talent search of the Eagles and 31 other teams in the league…but the “Compensatory Draft” game is a bigger deal than most fans realize.
It’s kinda like refinancing a mortgage…and where else do you get that kind of real and intelligent discussion on an Eagles board than what we received yesterday from our devoted readers and commenters here? I learned a lot about refinancing a mortgage and principal vs. interest payback last night from the Bored’s consultation with ATV (Las Vegas), who is pondering a re-fi of his desert palace…
Similar concepts apply to the NFL Compensatory Draft…
The idea is basically: teams who lose a lot of their home-grown talent to free agency are deserving of a chance to “refinance” with new talent through the upcoming Draft…
Oakland Raiders fans are celebrating tonight with a big “win” in the NFL’s annual compensatory draft picks sweeptakes… Oakland in effect gets to refinance their “mortgage” with a bunch of extra picks…
A total of 32 compensatory choices in the 2012 NFL Draft have been awarded to 15 teams, the NFL announced today.
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 221 choices in the seven rounds of the 2012 NFL Draft (April 26-28), which will kick off in primetime for the third consecutive year.
This year, the compensatory picks will be positioned within the third through seventh rounds based on the value of the compensatory free agents lost. Compensatory free agents are determined by a formula based on salary, playing time and postseason honors. The formula was developed by the NFL Management Council. Not every free agent lost or signed by a club is covered by this formula.
Where’s our Eagles Eye accountant to keep track of all this? I’ll be honest, although my dad was a CPA, I have never understood the machinations of this accounting phenomenon. All I really understand is this is just another monkey-wrench playing havoc with my Mach 10 Eagles draft ballot!
Fortunately, we have the future Rhodes Scholar candidate Blas to at least provide us the tally of the damages:
Blas’ full summary of compensatory picks:
NFC East:
EAGLES: 0
Cowboys: 1 (4th)
Giants: 1 (4th)
Redskins: 0
NFC North:
Bears: 0
Lions: 0
Packers: 4 (2x 4ths, 2x 7ths)
Vikings: 2 (2x 4ths)
NFC South:
Buccaneers: 0
Falcons: 1 (7th)
Panthers: 1 (6th)
Saints: 0
NFC West:
49ers: 0
Cardinals: 0
Rams: 1 (7th)
Seahawks: 0
AFC East:
Bills: 1 (7th)
Dolphins: 0
Jets: 4 (2x 6ths,2x 7ths)
Patriots: 0
AFC North:
Bengals: 0
Browns: 4 (2x 6ts, 2x 7ths)
Ravens: 2 (4th, 5th)
Steelers: 3 (3x 7ths)
AFC South:
Colts: 3 (5th, 6th, 7th)
Jaguars: 0
Texans: 0
Titans: 0
AFC West:
Broncos: 0
Chargers: 1 (7th)
Chiefs: 0
Raiders: 3 (3rd, 4th, 5th)
The Oakland Raiders more than doubled their draft haul by receiving three compensatory picks Monday for April’s draft.
The NFL awarded the Raiders picks at the end of the third, fourth and fifth rounds based on free agents they lost and signed last offseason. “Whatever the formula is, I love this formula. I love it,” new general manager Reggie McKenzie said from the NFL owners meetings in Florida. “Obviously this is better than what I expected,” he said. “Hopefully, we can make do and have some good picks.”
Obviously the Eagles got nothing in compensatory picks. No “refinancing” of our mortgage this year…
McKenzie was expecting a third-round pick as compensation for star cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha signing with Philadelphia. He was very pleased to get picks in the fourth and fifth rounds as well.
With limited salary cap room remaining, McKenzie will have to use the draft to fill the remaining holes on the team. The biggest needs right now are for a starting outside linebacker, possibly a starting tight end, backups at running back and quarterback and depth throughout the roster.
“I’m still looking for great backups who can become starters at every position,” McKenzie said. “I need a lot more picks than what I have now and some more free agent moves. The only thing I wish I had more of was NFL money and NFL cap. That’s what I wish I had more of.”
Oh I’m so thrilled for Reggie Mckenzie and the Raiders tonight… NOT!… I still don’t totally get this whole Compensatory Draft paradigm… but don’t listen to me, I’m still working with a 6.25% 30-year mortgage…
Tribute to DJax’s Big Adventure….
I urge you to take a trip to Dave Stoessel’s site Eagles Addict for an exciting collection of GIF tributes to the most exciting moments of DeSean Jackson’s career as an Eagle… Dave is celebrating the fact that this once-in-a-lifetime leprechaun of a wide receiver has decided to play out the next five years of his life within the Eagles offensive and special teams framework. Dave has put together a montage of GIF’s and videos which will remind you how special a talent DJax really is… I was moved to actually put a stop-watch on the breakaway patterns Jackson was running in these visual clips… It is some stunning and really theatrical performance. Often we dwell on DJax’s moody shortcomings here… but sometimes we have to sit back and appreciate just how special this cat really is: Here’s a sample:
Additional notes on the Raiders’ big haul in Compensatory Draft Picks in 2012—-Among the other free agents the Raiders lost last season were tight end Zach Miller, guard Robert Gallery and linebacker Thomas Howard. The most prominent player signed was tight end Kevin Boss. Oakland previously only had picks in the fifth and sixth rounds because of trades and the supplemental draft.
The Raiders traded their first-round pick to Cincinnati last October for quarterback Carson Palmer, their second-rounder to New England for the picks to draft offensive lineman Joseph Barksdale and running back Taiwan Jones last year, their third-rounder to take quarterback Terrelle Pryor in the supplemental draft, their fourth-rounder in 2010 to Washington to acquire quarterback Jason Campbell, and their seventh-rounder last year to Seattle for linebacker Aaron Curry.
Oakland’s first pick in April’s draft will be the 95th overall — up two spots because New Orleans was docked a second-round pick for its bounty program, and the Raiders used their third-rounder in the supplemental draft.
The Raiders will also pick 129th at the end of the fourth round and 168th at the end of the fifth. The team is not allowed to trade any of its compensatory picks.
McKenzie said he believes he can find starters through the fifth round based on his experience with the Green Bay Packers as director of football operations.
“I think there are very good players in the middle rounds,” he said. “From the standpoint of depth, I think it’s there. In the first round it may not be too deep. But for the most part, there are some good players throughout this draft.”
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