Eagles, Patriots poised to lead the way in 2020 compensatory picks

Swoop

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Mar 19, 2019
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The best-run teams in the NFL continue to be the best at playing the compensatory pick game.

The last two Super Bowl winners, the Eagles and Patriots, appear set to get the best compensatory pick value in the 2020 NFL draft.

The Eagles are likely to get a third-round compensatory pick for losing Nick Foles, and two fourth-rounders for losing Golden Tate and Jordan Hicks. The Patriots are expected to get third-round picks for Trey Flowers and Trent Brown, plus a sixth-round pick for Malcom Brown.

Originally, compensatory picks were intended to maintain parity in the NFL, giving additional picks to compensate teams that lost high-priced free agents to other teams, so that small-market teams wouldn’t fall behind big-market teams that could out-bid them for players.

But in the years since the NFL started awarding compensatory picks, they’ve actually helped the best teams stay on top. That’s because the NFL, with its salary cap and revenue sharing, doesn’t have the same issues with big-market teams out-bidding small-market teams that have been problems in other sports leagues. So compensatory picks don’t go to the have-nots as compensation for losing key players to the haves.

Instead, compensatory picks go to smart teams that plan wisely. Teams like the Eagles and Patriots.
 
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