The Bills haven't been frequent recipients of compensatory draft picks over the last dozen years, but on Friday Buffalo was awarded a pair of extra draft choices based on their free agent losses of a year ago.
The NFL gave the Bills fourth and sixth-round compensatory picks based on the free agent players who signed elsewhere in 2015. Those two extra picks are the 139th and 218th overall selections in the 2016 draft.
The compensation comes for former Bills safety Da'Norris Searcy, who signed a big free agent contract with Tennessee last offseason while C.J. Spiller signed a sizable deal with New Orleans. Having a free agent net loss of two put the Bills in position to be awarded two picks.
The additional picks are the first compensatory selections the Bills have had since 2012 when they were awarded a seventh-round pick. The last time Buffalo had a pair of compensatory picks was in 2008 when they were given fourth and seventh-round selections.
All told Buffalo now has eight total selections in the 2016 NFL draft with a pair in both the fourth and sixth rounds.
Under the NFL rules for compensatory draft selections, a team losing more or better free agents than it acquires in the previous year is eligible to receive compensatory draft picks.
The number of picks a team receives equals the net loss of compensatory free agents up to a maximum of four. Compensatory free agents are determined by a formula based on salary, playing time and postseason honors. The formula was developed by the NFL Management Council. Not every free agent lost or signed by a club is covered by this formula.
