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Thirty-three additional draft picks were announced by the NFL on Friday, with four teams receiving additional third-round compensatory selections in the top 100. The Detroit Lions, New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos had one extra third-round pick tacked onto the end of that round as compensation for loss in 2015 free agency. The Lions will pick 95th overall, followed by the Patriots, Seahawks and Broncos at Nos. 96-98.
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Picks are rewarded by the NFL Management Council using a weighted system striving to equate losses and additions to the roster.
The picks start at No. 95 because the Patriots lost their first-round pick in the Deflategate drama and the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday were docked a third-rounder for tampering in free agency with then-Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Jeremy Maclin. Kansas City is appealing the penalty.
The Lions were hit hard in March 2015, when Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley went from the starting defensive tackle combination for Detroit to cashing checks elsewhere. Suh signed a record six-year, $114 million deal in Miami and Fairley took a shorter contract from the Rams.
The Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers and Patriots have the most 2016 compensatory picks with four apiece.
Compensatory picks cannot be traded. However, that rule was changed effective next April.
There is value in the compensatory picks, of course, with notable selections including Tom Brady (199th overall, Michigan, 2000), Pro Football Hall of Fame guard Larry Allen of the Cowboys (46th overall, Sonoma State, 1994) and former Eagles and Broncos safety Brian Dawkins (61st overall, Clemson, 1996.
