Supplemental picks
 

So what should we expect for losing Nicks, Meachem, Porter and Dunbar? I believe it's offset by Lofton and Grubbs, but we should still end up with something.

we never get picks any more

They will probably make us pay.

Well, we know that if it is at all discretionary then we have no chance.
Still, Nicks for Grubbs should yield a 5th rounder on its own, unless Grubbs goes All-pro and Nicks lays an egg in TB. Not that I wouldn't mind that scenario.

I thought that the math equation they use to determine the supplemental picks was top secret, and therefore, it's pretty difficult to make any educated guesses based on it.

The only thing we could do is to by what the past has shown, but even then we would be working under the premise that the above mentioned math equation doesn't change to consider annual external variables.

I've read some articles about the supplemental picks, and they all pretty much say the same thing - one can make a guess as to what the end result will be, but it'll only be a guess since we don't know the details of the math equation they use to determine whether a team deserves a supplemental pick(s) or not.


But to answer your initial question, yes I do think that the Saints have lost more relative talent than they've regained through free agency, but I have no idea if that will warrant a supplemental pick(s).

I don't see it; Carl Nicks being #1; Grubbs comes in at a close #2 with a mediocre compared to Drew QB; and Lofton & Hawthorne make up for losing Porter/Meachem and then some...

Oh and Bunkley; I forgot about him...

That is way to much information for me to digest........I'll have to work on this.:cool:

True, but I once again refer to the fact that we don't know for sure how the math equation - they use to determine whether or not a team has lost more talent than gained through free agency and whether or not they should be compensated for it - works. So even though we might say that Nicks vs. Grubbs isn't really a big downgrade in terms of talent, the above mentioned equation might take into consideration that Nicks signed the biggest contract ever given to a guard, and because of that evaluate is as a loss of significance to the Saints.

Again I don't know, and I do like the talent the Saints have brought in as opposed to the ones who have left, but I was only speaking in relative terms when making that statement - as in what I think the equation will show.

wiki:
Compensatory picks

In addition to the 32 selections in each of the seven rounds, a total of 32 compensatory picks are awarded to teams that have lost more or better compensatory free agents than they signed in the previous year.[58] Teams that gain and lose the same number of players but lose higher-valued players than they gain also can be awarded a pick, but only in the seventh round, after the other compensatory picks. Compensatory picks cannot be traded, and the placement of the picks is determined by a proprietary formula based on the player's salary, playing time, and postseason honors with his new team, with salary being the primary factor . So, for example, a team that lost a linebacker who signed for $2.5 million per year in free agency might get a sixth-round compensatory pick, while a team that lost a wide receiver who signed for $5 million per year might receive a fourth-round pick. awarded at the ends of Rounds 3 through 7

If fewer than 32 such picks are awarded, the remaining picks are awarded in the order in which teams would pick in a hypothetical eighth round of the draft (These are known as "supplemental compensatory selections").

Compensatory picks are awarded each year at the NFL annual meeting which is held at the end of March; typically, about three or four weeks before the draft.

Thanks for sharing.:saintsfan: