Steelers Awarded Three Compensatory Draft Picks

The NFL Owners Meetings are being held and the Steelers got some unexpected good news to come from them. 

Scott Brown, of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, posted from his personal Twitter account, @ScottBrown_Trib, that the "Steelers awarded three compensatory picks in seventh round. That gives them four seventh-round picks in this year's draft."

I, myself, was expecting two compensatory picks: one for Matt Spaeth and one for Nick Eason. So, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that a third was awarded, that one being for Keyaron Fox for whom I didn't expect one. 

Brown also tweeted that the picks are "awarded based on a formula that takes into account free agents losses and gains from the previous year." It's a bit of a Chinese arithmetic situation we're dealing with here and I don't know the particulars. Suffice it to say, playing time and such play into it, thus it being a compensation. 

Spaeth signed a contract with the Chicago Bears and played quite a bit for them. He only had seven catches for 50 yards and two touchdowns, but he a total of over 350 snaps. Eason signed a two-year contract with the Arizona Cardinals and played in quite a few games resulting in well over 200 snaps. Fox was the wild card. He signed a one-year contract with the Washington Redskins and barely played just on defense, so compensation was expected. 

But, like I said, Chinese arithmetic. 

Brown tweeted the fact that, with the addition of the compensatory picks, "Steelers can draft players they may have otherwise had to bid on in as undrafted free agents." So, while it does provide a boon, "extra picks in seventh round hardly a reason for Steelers to do cartwheels."

True. But every little bit helps.