The NFL Draft is already one of the more interesting events in the NFL offseason, which is always finding new ways to stay relevant when there isn’t action on the gridiron. It’s about to get even more interesting
For first time this spring, NFL expected to allow teams to begin trading compensatory draft picks, per NFL sources. Should be more trades.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 19, 2015
With teams being able to trade compensatory picks, that essentially gives teams more flexibility in the draft. Teams are issued compensatory picks when they suffer net losses in free agency in the prior year. The picks are usually announced in March at the NFL owners meetings, among other items.
And while your first instinct might tell you that these picks aren’t important, considering that they mostly involve the bottom half of the draft, they have turned into pretty solid pieces for NFL franchises.
The most notable compensatory pick perhaps in NFL History? Tom Brady. It’s safe to say that the 6th round pick for the Patriots in 2000 paid dividends for the franchise that are still in effect here 15 years later.
Other notables include that of Hines Ward, Larry Allen, and Brian Dawkins, all who had significant impacts on their respective teams. The addition of draft picks is key for some franchises, and not so much for others, like the Seahawks and the Browns, respectively.
So if you thought drafting was tough before with all of the factors involved, things just got a tad bit more complicated.
