NFL announces compensatory picks; New England Patriots 2016 draft slots set

On Friday the National Football League announced the allocation of 33 compensatory draft picks for the 2016 NFL Draft, which will be held April 28-30. The New England Patriots received the maximum four compensatory picks: one in the third round, and three in the sixth round. With that news the Pats slots in April’s NFL draft has been set.

Compensatory draft picks are allotted to teams that lost an unrestricted free agent to another team in the previous off-season. Although the formula has never been made public, it has been determined that it is based primarily on the compensation that the player received from his new club, along with an adjustment for playing time and a smaller adjustment for post-season honors. Players who were released by their former team do not count in the formula, nor do players who sign with a new club after June 1.

Last year the Patriots lost cornerback Darrelle Revis in an obvious but not penalized textbook tampering scenario. The Pats also lost defensive tackle Vince Wilfork, corner Brandon Browner, running backs Shane Vereen and Stevan Ridley, and linebackers Akeem Ayers and Jonathan Casillas in free agency. The only compensatory qualified free agent that New England signed was defensive end Jabaal Sheard.

The third round pick was obviously for Revis, and there was some thought that Browner’s contract (3 years, $15,000,000) would fetch the Pats a fifth round selection, but that turned out to not be the case. Here is a rundown of the picks that the Patriots received:

third round, 96th overall
sixth round, 208th overall
sixth round, 214th overall
sixth round, 221st overall

With the compensatory draft picks now known, the initial arsenal of draft picks that the Patriots own has been finalized. Earlier this year the NFL decided to change the rule compensatory could not be traded. The fact that the league decided to implement this rule change next year rather than in 2016 surely has nothing to do with the fact that the Patriots would be receiving several comp picks (/sarcasm).

2nd round: 60th overall
3rd round: 91st overall
3rd round: 96th overall (compensatory pick, cannot be traded)
4th round: 127th overall
6th round: 196th overall (from Houston)
6th round: 208th overall (compensatory pick, cannot be traded)
6th round: 214th overall (compensatory pick, cannot be traded)
6th round: 221st overall (compensatory pick, cannot be traded)
7th round: 243rd overall (from Houston)
7th round: 250th overall

– The first round pick (29th overall) was stolen by Roger Goodell in the league’s attempt to smear Tom Brady the Patriots, and give the commissioner full power over the players and the NFLPA.
– The fifth round pick (154th overall) was traded away to the Houston Texans on September 17, 2015 for WR Keshawn Martin and Houston’s sixth round pick (196th overall).
– The sixth round pick (204th overall) was traded away to the Chicago Bears on September 29, 2015 for LB Jon Bostic.
– A seventh round pick (243rd overall) was acquired from the Houston Texans in exchange for QB Ryan Mallett on August 31, 2014.