Seahawks get four compensatory picks, bringing total to 11
Mar 23, 2015, 7:06 PM | Updated: Apr 8, 2016, 10:50 am
Losing Golden Tate in free agency last offseason factored into Seattle receiving four compensatory picks. (AP)
(AP)
The Seahawks have some extra ammunition heading into the upcoming NFL draft after being awarded four compensatory picks, bringing to 11 their total number of selections.
Compensatory picks were announced Monday at the NFL owners’ meetings in Phoenix.
Seattle’s four include one in the fourth round (No. 134 overall), one in the fifth round (No. 170) and two in the sixth round (Nos. 209 and 214). Four is the maximum number of compensatory picks a team can receive. They cannot be traded.
Compensatory picks are awarded to teams that the league deems to have suffered a net loss in free agency the year before. According to the NFL’s press release, Seattle’s four picks account for the free-agent departures of wide receiver Golden Tate, cornerback Brandon Browner, right tackle Breno Giacomini and defensive tackle Clinton McDonald.
None of the free agents that Seattle signed qualified as compensatory free agents based on the league’s formula, which takes into account salary, playing time and postseason honors. The Seahawks also lost offensive lineman Paul McQuistan and defensive backs Walter Thurmond and Chris Maragos in free agency, but Seattle wasn’t awarded additional compensatory picks for those players because four is the maximum.
The Seahawks’ 11 selections are comprised of five of their own picks, the four compensatory picks and two picks that were gained via trades. The only round in which Seattle doesn’t have at least one selection is the first, the Seahawks having sent the 31st overall pick to New Orleans in the Jimmy Graham trade. The Saints gave Seattle a fourth-round pick as part of that deal, and Seattle also got a sixth-round pick from the Jets to complete the Percy Harvin trade. The Seahawks traded their own sixth-rounder to the Colts last summer for cornerback Marcus Burley. Seattle owns its original pick in every round but the first and sixth.
Eleven picks would tie the Seahawks’ 2013 draft for the most selections under coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider. Seattle has drafted either nine or 10 players in every other draft since 2010.
Here’s the round-by-round look at Seattle’s 11 picks with the overall number of each selection:
First: dealt pick to Saints in Jimmy Graham trade
Second: No. 63 (own)
Third: No. 95 (own)
Fourth: No. 112 (from Saints); No. 130 (own); No. 134 (compensatory)
Fifth: No. 167 (own); No. 170 (compensatory)
Sixth: No. 181* (from Jets); No. 209 (compensatory); No. 214 (compensatory)
Seventh: No. 248 (own)
*Bumped from 180 to 181 after NFL revised three compensatory picks.
