Baltimore Ravens draft order is finalized

The Baltimore Ravens, the champions of the compensatory draft picks, have earned themselves another three picks in the 2015 NFL Draft.

The NFL Winter Meetings are in full swing and one of the first pieces of business is determining how compensatory picks are awarded.

The Ravens were given one fourth-round pick (No. 136) and two fifth-round picks (Nos. 171 and 175). The three draft picks awarded to Ozzie Newsome and his staff is one below the maximum allowed of four. Baltimore had received the maximum number of picks the last two seasons.

The Denver Broncos, Seattle Seahawks and Kansas City Chiefs got four picks each, while the Houston Texans were the only other team to receive three.

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The Ravens lead the league in compensatory picks since the program was launched in 1994. They now have been given 44 picks, while the next team is the Green Bay Packers with 35. That’s an impressive feat for a team that’s only been in the NFL since 1996.

Compensatory picks are awarded to teams that lose better free agents than they acquired with the determining factor on who is “better” being based on salaries and playing time.

The Ravens said goodbye to five free agents last year: Arthur Jones, Michael Oher, Ed Dickson, Corey Graham and James Ihedigbo. Baltimore signed only one free agent that wasn’t cut by another team in Darian Stewart. Players signed who were cut by teams for cap-related reasons do not count against the compensatory program.

You might be saying to yourself, “We lost five guys and signed one. Why don’t they get four picks then?” Oher and Jones were injured for most of last season, and Dickson did not earn enough playing time to merit a pick.

The Ravens figure to have plenty of comp picks again next season with the departures of Torrey Smith, Owen Daniels and Pernell McPhee.

Now that the NFL free agency period has dwindled down a bit, the focus for most is on to the NFL Draft. The Ravens full draft order has now been finalized with the team owning 10 selections in the upcoming draft. Here is the Ravens draft order:

Round 1: No. 26

Round 2: No. 58

Round 3: No. 90

Round 4: No. 122, No. 125 (from Detroit for Haloti Ngata), No. 136 (compensatory)

Round 5: No. 158 (from Detroit for Ngata), No. 171 (compensatory), No. 175 (compensatory)

Round 6: No. 203 (from Dallas for Rolando McClain)

Notes: Ravens traded their own fifth-round pick to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for Jeremy Zuttah. They traded their sixth-round pick to the Cleveland Browns to select Michael Campanaro. Traded their seventh-round pick as a part of the McClain deal.

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