The NFL announced today that the Cleveland Browns will be awarded 4 of the 32 compensatory picks in the upcoming NFL draft in April. This means that in addition to the nine picks the Browns had based on their record last season, and the ones they acquired in trades, the team currently has 13 selections in the 2012 NFL draft.

The Browns earned the numbers 204 and 205 overall in the sixth round and were awarded the 245 and 247 selections in the seventh round, as determined by the NFL Management Council.

So how is a compensatory pick awarded?

“Compensatory draft picks are awarded to a team who has lost more or better compensatory free agents than it acquired in the previous year. The number of selections given to each team equals the net loss of compensatory free agents, with four being the maximum. A free agent’s status as compensatory is based on salary, playing time and postseason recognition.”

*Quote from Browns press release.


In other words, if a team loses more compensatory free agents than it signed in a previous year, then the team gets a compensatory pick with 4 being the most a team can earn.

Here is a summary of how the Browns came to get the four compensatory picks.

Cleveland Browns: 

Lost: Abram Elam, Matt Roth, Chansi Stuckey, Jason Trusnik, Lawrence Vickers, Floyd Womack, Eric Wright

Signed: Brandon Jackson, Dimitri Patterson, Usama Young

So it appears that H&H will have more ammunition if they see a player they want in the later rounds. Additional picks equal flexibility. And based on the lack of activity in free agency thus far by the Browns, the additional picks can help to fill some holes in the roster.

Michael W. Youngman

(Lead Analyst C.B.R.)