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As you know by now, the Kansas City Chiefs did not gain any compensatory picks for the 2014 NFL Draft but likely will see multiple compensatory picks next year. The big winner this season is the Baltimore Ravens, who walk away with the maximum four comp picks.
This tweet sums it up well:
#Ravens get a 3rd, 2 4ths, and a 5th in exchange for not overpaying Dannell Ellerbe, Cary Williams, Paul Kruger & Ed Reed last year
— Sigmund Bloom (@SigmundBloom) March 24, 2014
That's pretty much right. The Ravens lost these free agents last year....
Dannell Ellerbe: 5 years, $35 million
Cary Williams: 3 years, $17 million
Paul Kruger: 5 years, $40 million
Ed Reed: 3 years, $15 million
...and they signed no qualifying free agents.
How does that compare to the Chiefs?
Branden Albert: 5 years, $46 million
Tyson Jackson: 5 years, $25 million
Jon Asamoah: 5 years, $22.5 million
Geoff Schwartz: 4 years, $16 million
Dexter McCluster: 3 years, $12 million
Only the 2014 money will factor in but that gives you an idea of how the total values match up. Vance Walker (3 years, $13 million) and Joe Mays (2 years, $6 million) are the only two free agents with contracts of consequence who have been signed. They will count against the Chiefs comp pick formula next year.
By those metrics, the free agents lost by the Chiefs match up well with the Ravens. It doesn't seem crazy to think the Chiefs could be getting a similar haul of comp picks next year. When John Dorsey talks about building through the draft, this is what he means. It's annoying right now to see free agents walk but there will be some good to come out of it down the road. If those picks net a few regular contributors, I may even say it was worth it!
This is the "deepest draft in 10 years" so it would be nice to have those extra picks this year but I have a feeling next year's draft will also be called the deepest draft in 10 years because most years it is.
The Ravens, by the way, are the all-time leader with 41 compensatory picks since 1994, 26 more than the Chiefs in the same span.