BULLITT

Piling up the picks
Bears may recoup losses with bonus draft choices
Dan Pompei
On the NFL

March 23, 2008

As it stands today, the Bears have eight picks in the upcoming NFL draft, but if everything goes right they could end up with a dozen.

They have their own picks in the first round (14th), second (13th), third (12th), fourth (11th), sixth (ninth) and seventh (15th).

They traded their fifth-round pick to Buffalo for defensive tackle Darwin Walker. But they received a fifth-round pick (ninth) from the Panthers for Chris Harris.

They also have the Chargers' third-round pick (27th) as a result of a draft-day trade last year. The Bears moved down 25 spots in the second round and received third- and fifth-round picks last year and the third-rounder this year.

It is also possible they will receive a draft pick from the 49ers if NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell rules the 49ers tampered with linebacker Lance Briggs when Briggs was under contract to the Bears last fall.

And it is probable they will receive compensatory picks from the NFL. The best guess is they will receive three additional seventh-round picks. Teams that lose unrestricted free agents and don't replace them with other teams' free agents are awarded compensatory picks.

The formula by which compensatory picks are awarded is a closely guarded secret. Even NFL teams don't know it. But they do know the picks are determined by the value of the contracts the players they lose sign and their performances in the subsequent season.

Last year, the Bears lost Justin Gage, Alfonso Boone, Ian Scott, Todd Johnson and Cameron Worrell. Players who are cut, as Tank Johnson was, don't count. The only free agent of significance they added was Anthony Adams.

Lest anyone think those compensatory picks are meaningless, consider this: there has been a direct correlation to compensatory picks and winning over the last decade.

The teams that have been given the most comp picks over that time are the Ravens (24), Rams (20), Packers (19), Patcheats (17), Bucs (17), Jaguars (16), Eagles (15), Cowboys (15), Bears (12), Titans (12) and Steelers (11).

Of those teams, only the Jaguars and Cowboys have not played in a Super Bowl during that decade. The other nine teams have made 13 appearances in the Super Bowl and won seven of the 10.

The compensatory pick system rewards the teams that draft well and do not look for the quick fix.

A team selects a player who becomes a starter. They lose him as a free agent and he gets a lucrative contract, so they are rewarded with a compensatory pick that can be as high as a third-rounder. Then they have a chance to draft a player of commensurate abilities who takes up less space under the salary cap.

Among the players who have been chosen with comp picks are P*tcheats quarterback Tom Brady, Vikings running back Chester Taylor (by the Ravens), Saints wide receiver Marques Colston, Patcheats offensive tackle Nick Kaczur, Patcheats linebacker Mike Vrabel (by the Steelers), Seahawks linebacker LeRoy Hill and Colts safety Antoine Bethea.

Even though comp picks can't be traded, they enable teams to take more chances in the draft, and can set up trades with other picks. The more picks a team has, the more flexibility it has on draft day.

BU54

Patcheats? That's a new one!

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Bears always have and always will need a quarterback!! But not a MLB.


10-7-07 Bears 27,Packers 20
12-23-07 Bears 35, Packers 7
Then Brett Favre Retired...

BeastJacobs

Did they ever get Darwin Walker?

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BU54

In tha article it says,

__________________
Bears always have and always will need a quarterback!! But not a MLB.


10-7-07 Bears 27,Packers 20
12-23-07 Bears 35, Packers 7
Then Brett Favre Retired...

BeastJacobs

I meant did Buffalo ever get Darwin Walker.

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BU54

I would assume so since the Bears aquired Walker from Buffalo.

__________________
Bears always have and always will need a quarterback!! But not a MLB.


10-7-07 Bears 27,Packers 20
12-23-07 Bears 35, Packers 7
Then Brett Favre Retired...

Professor

Yeah BU, but he never played for them, we traded him to Buf in the spikes trade. He basically said he wouldn't play for them because they weren't willing to renegotiate his contract so he was released

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