Chcago Bears awarded extra pick in 2020 NFL Draft |
With us now within six weeks of the NFL Draft, teams are beginning to piece together whom they are going to target come those nights. While the scouting combine has come and gone, many pro days are set to take place, which gives players a better chance to improve their stock in front of specific teams interested in them.
For the Bears, should they have eyes on certain targets, things may have gotten more manageable as they have been awarded an extra pick in this year's draft. The Bears picked up a compensatory pick with No. 34 in the fourth round and 140th overall. The Bears were one of 15 teams who were awarded Compensatory picks in this year's draft as a total of 32 picks were granted from rounds 3-7 between these fifteen teams. What determines if you earn one of these picks is basically a net loss of who you lose in free agency the year prior. Under the current system as it is constructed, teams that suffer a net loss of compensatory picks in the free-agent period are eligible to receive a corresponding number of compensatory selections the following year with a maximum of four picks. The level of compensation these teams receive for what they lose is based on a few factors. The first factor is the player's yearly compensation. The second factor that goes into this process postseason honors if there is any. The third and final factor has to do with playing time. Typically, the more boxes checked in these areas, the higher and better your compensatory pick will be. With this additional pick, the Bears will now have eight picks in this year's upcoming draft give or take if trades are made. However, Chicago's first pick won't come until the second round as they lost their first-round pick in this year's draft as part of the Khalil Mack deal with Oakland. Chicago won't be on the clock until pick No. 43, but then will be quickly back on at No. 50. That 43rd selection is the one they received from the Raiders in the Mack deal. Along with these picks, the Bears also own picks in the fifth, sixth and seventh rounds and picked up an additional sixth-round pick from Philadelphia as part of the Jordan Howard trade and an extra seventh-rounder from Oakland in the Mack deal. Not only did Oakland receive the Bears first and third-round picks this year for Mack, but the Patriots received the Bears fourth-round pick this year for the Bears to move up and draft David Montgomery last year so adding that fourth round Compensatory pick for Chicago is enormous. This will be the first time since 2009 when the Bears were awarded a compensatory pick when they were given two picks that year with one in the third round and one in the seventh. The Bears used those picks to draft Juaquin Iglesias and Lance Louis, respectively. This year, the Patriots struck gold in terms of the Compensatory process as they were awarded the maximum four picks to lead the way among teams. The Broncos, Eagles, Giants, Seahawks Texans, and Vikings were awarded three picks while the Dolphins and Ravens were awarded two. Chicago joins Tampa Bay, Dallas, LA Rams, Washington, and Pittsburgh as the teams awarded just one pick. The Compensatory process may be new for some fans, but this process has been around since 1994, which oddly enough was also the first year of the salary cap. The main reason for the creation of these picks was to help teams that may not have a ton of money or were not as active on the free-agent front as others. Since the creation, the Bears rank 26th in the NFL with 18 total compensatory picks tying them with both Carolina and Houston. With their two picks this season, Baltimore has been awarded the most all-time with 52, which is followed by the Cowboys (43), Patriots (43), and Packers with (42). NFL released the official draft order. Here are #Bears 8 picks:
Round 2, 43 overall (from LV)
Round 2, 50 overall
Round 4, 140 overall (compensatory)
Round 5, 163 overall
Round 6, 196 overall
Round 6, 200 overall (from Phil)
Round 7, 226 overall (from LV)
Round 7, 233 overall
