The NFL announced the 32 compensatory picks for this year’s draft, giving teams the final answer to where they stand heading into April.
NFL Draft 2013: Compensatory picks announced
The NFL has released the slate of compensatory picks, letting teams know exactly where they stand for next month’s draft.
James Lang-US PRESSWIRE
The big winners from Monday's announcement were the Houston Texans, who scored the highest compensatory pick at No. 95 overall in the third round to go a along with a sixth-round pick. The Kansas City Chiefs also earned a third and a sixth, and the Tennessee Titans earned picks in the third, sixth and seventh rounds.
The Atlanta Falcons and the Baltimore Ravens earned the most compensatory picks, with four each. The Falcons earned a pick in the fourth as well as three seventh-round picks, while the Ravens earned picks in the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh. Meanwhile, the Super Bowl runner-up San Francisco 49ers were given a fourth-rounder and two seventh-round picks to add to an already huge bounty of draft picks. You can check out the full list of 2013 compensatory picks here.
| Team | No. of Picks | Rounds |
| Arizona Cardinals | 0 | - |
| Atlanta Falcons | 4 | 4, 7, 7, 7 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 4 | 4, 5, 6, 7 |
| Buffalo Bills | 0 | - |
| Carolina Panthers | 0 | - |
| Chicago Bears | 0 | - |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 2 | 7, 7 |
| Cleveland Browns | 0 | - |
| Dallas Cowboys | 0 | - |
| Denver Broncos | 0 | - |
| Detroit Lions | 2 | 7, 7 |
| Green Bay Packers | 1 | 5 |
| Houston Texans | 2 | 3, 6 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 1 | 7 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 0 | - |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 2 | 3, 6 |
| Miami Dolphins | 2 | 5, 7 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 0 | - |
| New England Patriots | 0 | - |
| New Orleans Saints | 0 | - |
| New York Giants | 1 | 7 |
| New York Jets | 0 | - |
| Oakland Raiders | 1 | 6 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 1 | 7 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 1 | 6 |
| Saint Louis Rams | 0 | - |
| San Diego Chargers | 0 | - |
| San Francisco 49ers | 3 | 4, 7, 7 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 2 | 7, 7 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 0 | - |
| Tennessee Titans | 3 | 3, 6, 7 |
| Washington Redskins | 0 | - |
The picks are given out based on which players a team lost in the previous offseason to free agency. From there, the pick depends on how much the player was on the field, how well he performed and his salary. The third round is the highest selection that can be awarded.
More: Mocking The Draft
Last year, a total of 15 teams received compensatory draft picks. The Raiders were the only team to get a third-round compensatory pick.
It is also worth pointing out that the compensatory picks can not be traded under any circumstances. The team granted the slot has to draft a player right then and there.
For example, Brandon Carr was signed away from the Kansas City Chiefs by the Dallas Cowboys last year. Carr went on to be a full-time, high-caliber starter, which netted the Chiefs a compensatory third-round pick.
Some might sneeze at the idea of a compensatory selection, blowing it off as being the bottom of the barrel. But not so fast pal, I’ll give you a few examples.
Linebacker Miles Burris of the Oakland Raiders was taken with a fourth-round comp pick last year and developed into one of the best rookies in football, making 96 tackles and starting 15 games.
In 2011, the New York Giants snagged Jacquian Williams from South Florida, and he became a key player in bringing Big Blue another Super Bowl championship that season.
The year before that, the Green Bay Packers landed offensive tackle Marshall Newhouse in the fifth round, now a nice tackle for the Pack.
Don’t sleep on the compensatory picks.
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