Looking Ahead: Jaguars Projected to Have 0 Compensatory Draft Picks Again in 2021

After a busy offseason in terms of additions, the Jacksonville Jaguars are once again set to continue what has been a decade-long pattern in terms of compensatory draft picks.

The team is projected to receive zero compensatory draft picks in 2021, per projections from Over The Cap. The Jaguars have not received a pick via the compensatory draft system since 2010, meaning this would be the 11th consecutive offseason in which they do not gain a pick from a player leaving the team via free agency.

According to Over The Cap, the only free agent who would have netted the team a compensatory pick is offensive tackle Cedric Ogbuehi, who signed a one-year, $2.3 million deal with the Seattle Seahawks this offseason. Per Over The Cap, Ogbuehi could have potentially netted the Jaguars a seventh-round pick.

Meanwhile, this was canceled out by the Jaguars signing four free agents who qualify as compensatory free agents in linebacker Joe Schobert, tight end Tyler Eifert, defensive tackle Al Woods and defensive lineman Rodney Gunter.

The last time the Jacksonville Jaguars were awarded a compensatory draft pick, Tyson Alualu was the team's first-round pick and players like Trent Williams, Eric Berry, Dez Bryant, Earl Thomas and Rob Gronkowski were rookies. In 2010, they received a sixth-round (No. 203rd overall) selection. They would later use that pick on James Madison defensive back Scotty McGee.

"Under the terms of the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement, the league also can assign as many as 32 additional “compensatory free agent” picks, which allow clubs that have lost free agents to another team to use the draft to try to fill the void. The awarded picks take place at the end of the third through seventh round," the NFL's operations page states. "Compensatory free agents are determined by a proprietary formula, developed by the NFL Management Council, which considers a player’s salary, playing time and postseason honors.

"The value of the compensatory free agents gained or lost by each team is totaled, and a team is awarded picks of equal value to the net loss of compensatory free agents, up to a maximum of four. "

Veteran safety Cody Davis was also a free agent who left Jacksonville and signed elsewhere, but according to Over The Cap he is not eligible to count for a draft pick and he would have been canceled out by the free agent additions anyways. Davis signed a one-year, $1.5 million deal with the New England Patriots this offseason.

Credit: Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports

While the Jaguars have not gained any draft picks via the compensatory draft pick system in 10 years, they have still been able to benefit from said picks in other forms. For example, the fourth-round pick the Jaguars gained from the Chicago Bears for quarterback Nick Foles was a compensatory pick the Bears had gained. The No. 140 overall pick was eventually used to select Miami linebacker Shaquille Quarterman.

The only players who are eligible to count toward comp picks are players whose contracts had expired. Players who had been cut, traded or had their contracts voided do not count, which would explain why the Jaguars didn't gain any draft picks despite their mass exodus of players in the past few months.

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