Bang: the NFL awarded compensatory picks for the 2022 draft on Friday, and the New Orleans Saints were one big beneficiary. They received two extra selections as compensation for departures lost during the 2021 offseason, adding both picks in round three.
We knew the Saints would be getting a compensatory pick in the third round after personnel executive Terry Fontenot accepted the Atlanta Falcons’ general manager job — the NFL’s new incentivized program for developing minority candidates for executive positions guarantees teams that lose those candidates will receive a pair of third rounders, one in the current draft and another in the subsequent cycle.
Last year, the Saints used the first compensatory pick returned for Fontenot’s departure to trade up and select cornerback Paulson Adebo. This year, let’s consider it a replacement for the third rounder the Saints traded for backup corner Bradley Roby.
Now we’ll get into the real news. New Orleans was projected to receive a compensatory fourth rounder after losing pass rusher Trey Hendrickson to the Cincinnati Bengals in free agency last year; despite his high salary and impressive performance during the 2021 season, the formula considers how often players got on the field for their previous teams. However, that was still enough for the Saints to recoup a third rounder, not a fourth as was projected.
With that said: the Saints were also expected to net a compensatory sixth round pick to account for the loss of defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins. His more modest salary with the New York Jets slotted the Saints on the back end of compensatory picks recipients here. Unfortunately that projected comp pick in round six did not convey with so many higher-valued contracts ahead of him.
So with all that in mind: here are the draft picks the Saints can work with in 2022:
- Round 1 (18th overall)
- Round 2 (49)
- Round 3 (98), compensatory
- Round 3 (101), compensatory
- Round 4 (120)
- Round 5 (161)
- Round 7 (237)
Additionally, here are where the Saints’ future picks stand in the next two cycles:
- 2023 draft: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7
- 2024 draft: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
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