The inevitable was confirmed for the New Orleans Saints in a report from Adam Schefter of ESPN: they will not receive any compensatory picks in the 2019 NFL Draft. This is because they were too active in the 2018 unrestricted free agency period, signing more qualifying players than they lost. Only teams that lose more free agents than they gained qualify for compensatory picks and the placement of the picks is decided by average-per-year values.
According to calculations published by Over The Cap, the Saints lost three qualifying free agents:
- Left guard Senio Kelemete (sixth round value)
- Quarterback Chase Daniel (sixth round)
- Safety Rafael Bush (seventh round)
But New Orleans signed four qualifying players, including:
- Linebacker Demario Davis (fourth round)
- Cornerback Patrick Robinson (sixth round)
- Tight end Ben Watson (seventh round)
- Left tackle Jermon Bushrod (seventh round)
So any two of those four players would have had to be left unsigned for the Saints to qualify.
The New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams each received two compensatory picks in the third round. The Patriots lost left tackle Nate Solder and cornerback Malcolm Butler to big contracts, while the saw wide receiver Sammy Watkins and cornerback Trumaine Johnson leave for paydays. It hurts to see the two teams that met in Super Bowl LIII benefit from the compensatory pick formula, but that comes with good planning.
