By Joe Schiller
Ravens fans were left uneasy at the start of free agency. After losing Terrell Suggs, Za'Darius Smith and C.J. Mosley, along with releasing Eric Weddle, the direction of the reigning AFC North champions seemed unclear.
But General Manager Eric DeCosta's long-term plan involved embracing a key component of his predecessor, Ozzie Newsome.
Compensatory picks.
The Ravens were awarded their 50th compensatory pick this offseason – a third-round pick after Ryan Jensen signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last year. It's the most of any team since the picks were introduced.
Despite signing safety Earl Thomas and Mark Ingram this week, DeCosta and co. are still in line for two compensatory picks, according to OverTheCap.com.
OTC currently projects a third-round compensatory pick for Za'Darius Smith and a fourth-round pick for John Brown. Smith signed a lucrative long-term deal with the Green Bay Packers while Brown signed with the Buffalo Bills.
At this point, we've now reached 32 regular 2020 compensatory picks.If any more eligible comp picks are created, the lowest ones will be pushed beyond the 32-pick limit. pic.twitter.com/mbw4YFDIwN
— Nick Korte (@nickkorte) March 14, 2019The max compensatory picks a team can receive in one season is four. There's plenty of moves left to be made this offseason but lining themselves up with more draft ammunition next year is very smart.
With Robert Griffin III, Brent Urban, Buck Allen among others still searching for a team, more compensatory picks could roll in depending on the contract numbers.
The Ravens already have eight picks in this year's draft and they're setting themselves up for a big 2020 offseason.
