The New England Patriots have been awarded four compensatory picks in the 2019 NFL Draft.
The league announced Friday the Patriots will receive two additional third-round selections (Nos. 97 and 101), plus one in the sixth round (No. 205) and another in the seventh (No. 252).
New England now owns a total of 12 picks in this year’s draft, including six in the first three rounds:
First round: No. 32 overall (original)
Second round: No. 56 overall (via Chicago)
Second round: No. 64 overall (original)
Third round: No. 73 overall (via Detroit)
Third round: No. 97 (compensatory)
Third round: No. 101 (compensatory)
Fourth round: No. 134 (original)
Sixth round: No. 205 (compensatory)
Seventh round: No. 239 (via Philadelphia)
Seventh round: No. 243 (via Cleveland, via Kansas City)
Seventh round: No. 246 (original)
Seventh round: No. 252 (compensatory)
Compensatory draft picks are awarded based on the number of qualifying free agents a team signed and lost the previous offseason. The Patriots lost Dion Lewis, Malcolm Butler, Danny Amendola, Nate Solder, Johnson Bademosi and Cameron Fleming while signing Adrian Clayborn and Jeremy Hill.
Given Bill Belichick’s proclivity for pre- and in-draft dealing, it’s highly unlikely the Patriots will use all 12 of their currently allotted selections. New England drafted nine players in 2018, and only three (running back Sony Michel, linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley and cornerback Keion Crossen) appeared in a regular-season game as rookies.
