I swear I won't post another diary, but I was hoping there was a reader with more expertise in the area of compensatory draft picks.

From what I understand, these picks are awarded to teams who lost more in free agency than they gained the previous year. This usually doesn't come into play for us because we have built our roster through free agency. A team like the Patriots, however, have done the exact opposite. Last year, New England received 4 compensatory picks for the players they lost. They are typically one of the teams with the highest amount of picks. Their strategy with their own free agents is to assess their value, and let them walk if they want more money than is offered. No big deal for them, they will get a draft pick in return. Since salaries of outgoing and incoming free agents plays a factor in awarding picks, the Patriots always come out way ahead. Patriots players tend to get signed for a premium when they leave (Samuel) and players typically sign with them at a discount with hopes of winning a title (Seau).

This year the Redskins are projected to receive 2 or 3 compensatory picks in this years draft. The loss of Derrick Dockery, and the fact that he signed a ridiculous contract, may actually fetch us a late 3rd round pick in the draft this year. We will probably also receive another late 7th round pick like we received two years ago when we drafted Kevin Simon. He didnt make the roster but these picks still have value. Two picks after Simon, the Saints grabbed and all-pro wide receiver in Marques Colston.

If this is true, we may end up with 8 or 9 picks, instead of just 6. That would be a tremendous opportunity to build depth and fill our 4 greatest needs (DE, WR, CB, OL) in the first three rounds of the draft.

I thought this was good news for us worth sharing. Any experts care to shed some light on this? The best article I could find on compensatory picks comes from here.