Football is a chess match. Often times that goes well beyond the field of play. One area teams can try and gain a competitive advantage is via the compensatory pick formula.
For instance, the New England Patriots have been playing the system for a while, ensuring they signed few players who counted in the formula than they lost. Thus with the Raiders employing a staff and front office made up of a lot of former Patriots, they are now projected to receive three comp picks in next years’ draft.
Part of the rules surrounding which free agents qualify for compensatory picks involves timing. There is a window in which players can count against the formula. That window closed Monday at 1pm Pacific (4pm ET). Immediately after that deadline had passed, the Saints made it official with safety Tyrann Mathieu. Thus he didn’t count as a loss or a gain in the comp pick formula.
Had Mathieu been signed at any point between the start of free agency on March 16 and the deadline on Monday, May 2, he would have garnered the Chiefs a 4th round compensatory pick in the 2023 draft according to Over the Cap figures, while counting against the total for the team that signed him.
The Chiefs are already projected to have two comp picks coming their way in the 2023 draft — a round three pick from from the Bears hiring their former executive Ryan Poles as GM and a round seven pick from the loss of DT Jarran Reid to the Packers.
The Saints will own Mr Irrelevant with one seventh round comp pick via net value.
You can see the Raiders’ projected comp picks here.