The Panthers’ personnel losses last spring have turned into a gain. Carolina was awarded two extra picks for the upcoming draft by the NFL, who announced compensatory picks Monday night.The Panthers picked up additional fifth- and sixth-round choices, giving them a total of nine selections: the 25th in each of the seven rounds, plus the comp picks (33rd selection, 5th round; 38th selection 6th round).Click here for a breakdown of all 32 of this year’s compensatory picks.
HOW COMPENSATORY PICKS ARE AWARDED
The first thing to note about compensatory picks is that very few people know how they’re awarded. The league uses a highly secretive formula to determine which teams get which picks, but this is what we do know about the process:
- Picks are awarded after the third through seventh rounds.
- The league can hand out a maximum of 32 compensatory picks, and no team can have more than four.
- Picks can not be traded.
- Picks are determined by who a team lost and gained in the previous offseason.
- Only unrestricted free agents count for or against teams.
- Key components of the formula: The annual value of a free agent’s contract, his playing time, his performance.
WHO THE PANTHERS LOST AND GAINED IN 2014
LOST:
- S Mike Mitchell ($5 mil/yr; 1,027 snaps)
- CB Captain Munnerlyn ($3.75 mil/yr; 1,089 snaps)
- WR Brandon LaFell ($3 mil/yr; 1,128 snaps)
- WR Ted Ginn ($3.25 mil; 163 snaps)
- WR Domenik Hixon (signed w/Bears, retired in May)
GAINED:
- WR Jerricho Cotchery ($1.6 mil/yr; 929 snaps)
- TE Ed Dickson ($795,000; 622 snaps)
- CB Antoine Cason ($730,000; 690 snaps w/Carolina)
PANTHERS’ COMPENSATORY DRAFT PICK HISTORY
| YEAR | ROUND | PICK | PLAYER | COLLEGE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 4 | 132 | C Frank Garcia | Washington |
| 1995 | 5 | 171 | T Andrew Peterson | Washington |
| 1995 | 7 | 249 | DB Michael Reed | Boston College |
| 1998 | 7 | 228 | WR Jim Turner | Syracuse |
| 2002 | 7 | 258 | DB Brad Franklin | Louisiana-Lafayette |
| 2003 | 7 | 247 | RB Casey Moore | Stanford |
| 2005 | 5 | 169 | C Geoff Hangartner | Texas A&M |
| 2005 | 5 | 171 | DB Ben Emanuel | UCLA |
| 2005 | 6 | 207 | T Joe Berger | Michigan Tech |
| 2008 | 7 | 241 | OT Geoff Schwartz | Oregon |
| 2008 | 7 | 250 | G Mackenzy Bernadeau | Bentley |
| 2010 | 6 | 202 | DB Jordan Pugh | Texas A&M |
| 2010 | 6 | 204 | QB Tony Pike | Cincinnati |
| 2010 | 7 | 249 | DB Robert McClain | Connecticut |
| 2011 | 3 | 97 | DT Sione Fua | Stanford |
| 2011 | 6 | 203 | C Zach Williams | Washington St. |
| 2011 | 7 | 244 | OT Lee Ziemba | Auburn |
| 2012 | 6 | 207 | P Brad Nortman | Wisconsin |