Bears denied compensatory draft picks<\/p>\n
Six years ago, the NFL passed\u00a02020 Resolution JC-2A<\/a>\u00a0to reward teams for supporting the development of minorities in coaching and front-office positions.<\/p>\n Specifically, a team would gain a third-round pick in each of the next two drafts if any of its minority employees were hired as either a\u00a0head coach or \u201cprimary football executive\u201d by\u00a0another NFL team.\u00a0In the resolution, \u201cgeneral manager\u201d is in parentheses next to \u201cprimary football executive.\u201d\u00a0That\u2019s important.<\/p>\n So when Cunningham, a minority candidate, took Atlanta\u2019s general manager job, the Bears expected those draft picks. Rightfully so. And Cunningham agreed.<\/p>\n \u201cI would think they get the two third-round picks,\u201d he said<\/a>\u00a0at the NFL combine. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t be sitting here if it weren\u2019t for them giving me that job and helping me grow.\u201d<\/p>\n The NFL had a different idea. It\u00a0designated<\/a> Matt Ryan, Atlanta\u2019s new president of football, as the Falcons\u2019 primary football executive. Since a GM isn\u2019t necessarily atop a team\u2019s org chart, the Bears were out of luck.<\/p>\n Wait a minute.\u00a0In January,\u00a0Ryan himself\u00a0said<\/a>, \u201cThe general manager role is going to be exactly the same as what it\u2019s been here before.\u201d<\/p>\n So while\u00a0Cunningham reports to the Falcons\u2019 president, his position is identical to that of Terry Fontenot, the GM he is replacing. Cunningham has nearly two decades of experience in front-office jobs with the Ravens, Eagles and Bears, while Ryan has a few weeks.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not doing the scouting. I\u2019m not running those meetings,\u201d Ryan said in that same news conference. He later said Cunningham will also\u00a0lead the charge on free agency<\/a>. \u201cI\u2019ll be involved in whatever way Ian needs me. \u2026 He is running the ship.\u201d<\/p>\n Both Cunningham and Fontenot are minorities, hired for the same job by the Falcons. Fontenot was lured from the Saints in 2021, so New Orleans got two third-round picks. At the time, Atlanta\u2019s team president and CEO (not \u201cpresident of football,\u201d a new position) was its former GM, Rich McKay.<\/p>\n As recently as 2024, Fontenot reported to McKay. \u201cThe day-to-day operation of the football team is run by the head coach when it comes to all the coaching and all the players and everything he does,\u201d McKay said in January<\/a> that year. \u201cAnd by the general manager when it comes to all of the players, player\u2019s selection and all that. They both report to me.\u201d\u00a0That\u2019s\u00a0not a \u201cprimary football exec,\u201d but Ryan is?<\/p>\n Weeks ago at the NFL combine, I saw Cunningham fielding questions about Atlanta from the podium. Every other attending team\u2019s \u201cprimary football executive\u201d was doing the same. I didn\u2019t see Matt Ryan. Unfortunately for the Bears, their picks might not appear either.<\/p>\n Should Chicago have those comp picks?\u00a0Ryan has final say, after all. But then again, didn\u2019t Rich McKay? Doesn\u2019t Arthur Blank? Where do you draw that line? So many questions the NFL hasn\u2019t answered.<\/p>\n Teams also get comp picks for losing players to free agency, which is why the Eagles\u2019 midseason trade for Jaelen Phillips was even smarter than it first appeared. On to that topic.<\/p>\n 2027 comp-pick projections<\/p>\n Dak Prescott, Trey Hendrickson and Tom Brady. Each was drafted with a compensatory pick, the NFL\u2019s way of making it up to teams whose players leave in free agency.<\/p>\n Every year since the dawn of free agency, the NFL awards at least 32 compensatory picks, scattered from Round 3 onward. Though the league cut the draft to seven rounds in 1994, there are about eight rounds\u2019 worth of total picks.<\/p>\n Earlier this week, the league\u00a0handed out 33 selections<\/a>\u00a0for this April\u2019s draft: 32 for players lost in 2025 free agency and one to the Lions for developing Jets head coach Aaron Glenn.\u00a0No team received more of these picks than Howie Roseman\u2019s Eagles, who added four, the maximum allowed each season.<\/p>\n Based on this year\u2019s free-agency cycle, they are also slated to get about three more in 2027.\u00a0Below is how\u00a0Over The Cap<\/a>\u00a0projects comp picks for\u00a0next\u00a0April:<\/p>\n Now let\u2019s talk about the Eagles\u2019 midseason trade for Phillips.\u00a0They sent Miami a 2026 third-round pick in early November, which wasn\u2019t a cheap price for a player on an expiring contract. The 26-year-old edge rusher became a perfect fit, though,\u00a0reigniting their pass rush<\/a>\u00a0while playing in their final nine games, including the playoffs.<\/p>\n This week, the Panthers signed Phillips with this cycle\u2019s most lucrative free-agent contract so far, meaning the Eagles are currently in line to get one of 2027\u2019s best compensatory picks. In total, they moved a 2026 third-rounder for a stretch run with Phillips and a 2027 third-rounder in return. Roseman stays winning.<\/p>\n That said, no one is better at this than the Ravens, who\u2019ve had a league-leading 63 comp picks since the system began. That includes four this year.\u00a0Here\u2019s how it works in more detail:<\/p>\n If a team loses more qualifying unrestricted free agents than it signed in the previous offseason, it can gain a pick one year later. Cutting players doesn\u2019t count. We also have a\u00a0more thorough explainer here<\/a>. Let\u2019s shift gears to the draft, which free agency changed in a big way<\/a>. Over to Ted.<\/p>\n What Ted\u2019s Seeing: Ty Simpson, QB2?<\/p>\n The consensus belief is that Alabama\u2019s Simpson is the No. 2 quarterback in this draft class behind Indiana\u2019s Fernando Mendoza, but opinions are all over the place about\u00a0whether Simpson should be a first-round pick<\/a>.<\/p>\n Did he show enough in his 15 college starts to warrant such an investment? Let\u2019s look at the film.<\/p>\n Part of Simpson\u2019s appeal is that you can see him executing translatable plays at a high level.\u00a0Many of his best passes are highly accurate anticipation throws over the middle of the field, where some young quarterbacks struggle. Simpson doesn\u2019t hesitate.<\/p>\n Simpson played in a \u201cpro-style\u201d passing game at Alabama under offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb.<\/p>\n In that clip, Simpson had a dagger concept (dig\/vertical combo) called, the most popular third-and-long concept in the NFL.\u00a0As he got his head around, he saw the linebacker run with the inside vertical. Then he saw the next underneath defender bite on the underneath route, so he ripped a perfect pass to the dig route.<\/p>\n One red flag: Size.\u00a0At the combine, Simpson measured in just a little over 6-foot-1, which puts him in the 20th percentile among combine quarterbacks. He also came in at just 211 pounds, in the 17th percentile.<\/p>\n In the last 20 years, only six quarterbacks 6-1 or shorter and under 215 pounds have started more than 40 games in the NFL: Drew Brees, Russell Wilson, Baker Mayfield, Michael Vick, Kyler Murray and Bryce Young.<\/p>\n I outline plenty of other concerns in today\u2019s story on Simpson,\u00a0unlocked for you to read here<\/a>. Based on all those factors, I see him as more of a third-round pick who will get pushed up to the second because of a weak overall class. Back to Jacob.<\/p>\n Extra Points<\/p>\n \ud83c\udfc8\u00a0Vikings sign Kyler Murray.\u00a0Alec Lewis explains\u00a0why Minnesota targeted<\/a>\u00a0the 2019 No. 1 pick. \u201cCould J.J. McCarthy win a competition with Murray? It\u2019s highly unlikely.\u201d<\/p>\n \ud83d\udd25 Patriots x A.J. Brown?\u00a0Chad Graff explores whether\u00a0a trade for the Eagles receiver<\/a>\u00a0is still possible for New England.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udc40\u00a0$100 million question.\u00a0Can Daniel Jones stay healthy for the Colts? James Boyd explores the\u00a0questions facing the 28-year-old quarterback<\/a>\u00a0after his second big payday.<\/p>\n \u2757New-look Bills?\u00a0Hardly. As Tim Graham writes, Buffalo\u2019s offseason has so far done little to alleviate the\u00a0pressure on Josh Allen to be Superman<\/a>.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udc54\u00a0Bryce Huff retires.\u00a0The 27-year-old 49ers defensive end announced it yesterday afternoon, sharing\u00a0plans to start a company<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u25b6\ufe0f Yesterday\u2019s most-clicked:\u00a0NFL insiders,\u00a0unfiltered on the Ravens\u2019 Maxx Crosby debacle<\/a>.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udceb Enjoyed this read? Sign up here<\/a> to receive The Athletic\u2019s free NFL newsletter in your inbox.\u00a0<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/a0305f1b682441b18db1ae3dbb045d5e-comp-picks-2.jpg\"\/)
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\nThe NFL uses a secret formula to calculate which comp picks go to which teams, but Over The Cap has largely figured it out. It\u2019s based heavily on the average salaries of all qualifying free agents, though individual honors and playing time also factor.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/188dd7af6fe647f6933b9ebc6b77198b-ezgifcom-optimize-2026-03-13t101040114.gif\"\/)
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