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The New Orleans Saints finally bagged some compensatory draft picks in 2021, and now they’re looking for more. In addition to their extra pick for losing personnel executive Terry Fontenot to the Atlanta Falcons this offseason, the Saints are projected to add a couple of more selections next year as compensation for departed free agents.
OverTheCap’s Nick Korte has maintained a series of comp pick cancellation charts for each team in the NFL, and he estimates the Saints to have lost three qualifying free agents: defensive end Trey Hendrickson (projected fourth rounder), defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins (projected fifth rounder), and cornerback Justin Hardee Sr (projected seventh rounder).
Linebacker Alex Anzalone signed with the Detroit Lions for just $1.75 million, which isn’t enough to reach the comp pick threshold — neither does fullback Alex Armah’s $1.1 million addition, which won’t factor into the formula.
However, the signing of defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon does cancel out Hardee’s loss. But that ultimately doesn’t matter. Only 32 comp picks are awarded each year to keep the grant total of selections at 256, and the introduction of comp picks for minority personnel departures to executive roles will push those seventh rounders beyond the 32-pick limit.
It’s possible that the Saints could lose one of those projected comp picks by signing an unrestricted free agent at a high enough value. That may not be realistic to expect given their spending thus far, especially given how badly free agency has slowed down.
The Saints have a handful of other qualifying free agents left on the market, but it’s tough to see any of them signed with a new team at a number that might return another comp pick. The group includes linebacker Craig Robertson, cornerback Ken Crawley, safety D.J. Swearinger, fullback Michael Burton, and wide receiver Bennie Fowler.
So with all of that said: here’s a quick recap of the Saints’ projected draft picks in 2022 (click here for the Saints’ full 2021 draft order).
- Round 1
- Round 2
- Round 3
- Round 3 (compensatory, Fontenot)
- Round 4 (compensatory, Hendrickson)
- Round 5
- Round 5 (compensatory, Rankins)
- Round 7
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