The Saints have utilized pick no. 136 twice before in franchise history selecting tackle Dave Hubbard in the fifth round of the 1977 NFL Draft and wide receiver Mercury Hayes in the fifth round of the 1997 NFL Draft.
The NFL can award up to 32 “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.
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.
Teams that have had a minority employee hired as a head coach or primary football executive by another club also receive special compensatory picks, which were instituted as an amendment to the 2020 Collective Bargaining Agreement in an effort to promote equal employment opportunities within NFL teams.