McDougald Loss = Compensatory Draft Pick?

March 15th, 2017

Genius?

Joe wrote — and said — multiple times over the past 14 months that it was ludicrous to think the Bucs had a compensatory draft pick “locked up” if they eventually let Mike Glennon walk in free agency.

The nonsense was fueled by BSPN stating it as gospel last year.

Compensatory picks don’t work that way. Here’s a breakdown, with some quality perspective by oily super agent Drew Rosenhaus.

Compensatory picks are a numbers game. Your team, barring a technicality, can’t score a free draft pick unless you lose more free agents than you sign in a season prior to May 1 and after the free agency dinner bell rings in March.

This year, the Bucs lost Russell Shepard to the Panthers, Akeem Spence to the Lions and Mike Glennon is the new commander-in-chief quarterback of the Bears. On the flip side, Tampa Bay has signed DeSean Jackson, defensive tackle Chris Baker and safety J.J. Wilcox.

So that’s an even slate to date.

However, Bucs starting safety Bradley McDougald remains on the market. And word came yesterday from BSPN that McDougald will visit the Seattle Seahawks this week.

So if McDougald signs there, will the Bucs score a 2018 compensatory draft pick? And what round would it come in?

The formula is complex and Joe doesn’t have an exact answer.

Joe would be very pleased to see McDougald return to the Bucs. However, now is a good time to start Tweeting love notes about McDougald to Seahawks officials. An extra 2018 pick would be fantastic, and it would make general manager Jason Licht look like a smarty pants for not trading Glennon — and for becoming the first Bucs GM to score a compensatory pick since a seventh-rounder in 2011.

52 Responses to “McDougald Loss = Compensatory Draft Pick?”

  1. Brooks Says:

    Guess this was written before we signed the long snapper from Buffalo.
    Thanks for keeping Joe sharp in the early a.m., Brooks. –Joe
    Dammit, Joe screwed up the double check from your heads-up and the long snapper doesn’t qualify since he had been cut by his previous team. The post is now back to its original form. –Joe

  2. Ya'llRememberHarryHamilton? Says:

    Ummm….I actually liked Mcdougald. He’s a young upstart (only 26) who seemed to catch on at the end of the season. He’s definitely better than Banks and it will say a lot about the type of player he is if Seattle asks him to join the Legion of Boom

  3. Eric Says:

    Totally stoked. A maybe comp pick in 2018.

    May not be able to sleep tonight.

  4. TouchDownTampaBay Says:

    I would much rather see them address some areas of concern in FA (ala a center and some depth at other positions) than picking one extra pick in the middle of the draft.

  5. Billy Buc N Brazil Says:

    What about J Rodgers and the signing of the long snapper from the Bills? Do they play into the equation?
    See update. Thanks. (Rodgers should not). –Joe

  6. Miko Says:

    This is bad…Shep(26), McDouglad(26), Spence(25) FOR Djax(trouble), Baker(29), Wilcox(camp meat)…How do any of you not see this? We’ve stepped back! Djax is a smoke screen. The guy is always injured and the size of a high school wideout…poor hands and character too!

  7. tdtb2015 Says:

    ^ yes the long snapper from Tampa who spent the last 8 years playing for Buffalo. He never got injured or missed a game. lol

  8. Bucballbaby84 Says:

    Miko your shot!!!

  9. tdtb2015 Says:

    Good thing the draft is coming up. Otherwise we would be the oldest team in NFL history!!!! Yes this is very, very bad!!!!

    I’m disappointed. Hmmm disappointed? No

    Highly disappointed! lol

  10. Mike Says:

    I think it’s an epic failure to lose Shepherd, spence and possibly mcdougald.
    All three brought heart to the team. Letting a team captain walk? Ridiculous.
    Glennon, inevitable. Conte, terrible signing in my opinion.
    I like the signing of Jackson. Redskins guy seems good. Wilcox is a crapshoot. Could have had Patterson. No interest in Calais Campbell? This GM is a jackass. Grade D+ at best only because of Jackson’s upside.

  11. TampaBay AllDay Says:

    I like gaining experience. We still have core young guys and a draft

  12. Joeypoppems Says:

    @Miko

    We stepoed back from an age standpoint, sure. You can’t say that Desean Jackson is a step down from Shep or that Baker is a step down from Akeem Spence. Imo Wilcox is on the same level as McDougald. The fact that Seattle is the team interested when they have 2 All Pro Safeties already means they see him as what he is. An above average backup

  13. Dan Solaz Says:

    Sweezy will start at Lg and be MAJOR upgrade..Djax is Major upgrade as well as Baker . Yes we are losing some role players bit we replaced Spence with Baker and who cares how young Spence is, Baker is by no means long in the tooth. Shepp was a standout leader but we have plenty of leaders on team, and anyone who thinks shepp was a bigger asset than Djax will be is clearly not being honest. I like our teams pick ups and look forward to draft, we can draft a safety who can compete for starting job. Good work so far Bucs

  14. JAB83 Says:

    MIKO, I have entertained your thoughts everytime you have mentioned your concerns… So entertain mine…

    Your just as foolish as you claim everyone else is for not seeing your point…

    We NONE of the guys we lost equal any of the guys we added… That is the obvious point here… Everyone we added is better hands down!!! To do that, you lose other guys… SIMPLE AS THAT…

    The foggy point thats hard for most real fans to understand… ITS A BUSINESS AND YOU CANT MAKE EVERYONE HAPPY…

    THATS WHY I AM A FAN FIRST AND NOT A GM

  15. Joe Says:

    I think it’s an epic failure to lose Shepherd

    Losing a part-time player is an “epic failure?” Imagine if the Bucs lost an every-down starter? Guess that would be a nuclear holocaust? 🙂

  16. JAB83 Says:

    Joey I posted mine first… LOL

  17. Miko Says:

    It’s the hidden issues…team chemistry and loyalty…Shep, Spence and McDougald were finds by the Bucs and serve a purpose in staying…Animosity with the Djax contract could filter through the place…PAY YOUR OWN GUYS! I guess I just hate what the NFL has become now…money over logical moves…

  18. DallasBuc Says:

    So far the epic failure in free agency so far is not finding an adequate center to improve this highly overrated oline.

  19. Dan Solaz Says:

    Hawley over any of the free agent centers available

  20. Poor Glennon Says:

    Minor upgrades…….big cash and no comp picks. Desean Jackson is a brat plain and simple. Shepard is steady, djax is a rollercoaster. If we don’t win early….look out. Do you think djax will bow down to #3. No way he’s the vet. He’ll be ripping #3 a new one.

  21. JAB83 Says:

    DJax is a winner… I think if we dont win early the giu you need to worrie about is JW3… DJax would take a back seat or ride shotgun while JW rips his team a new one with his big mother Fing stick…

    DJax is a really smart and charismatic dude… Dissing him for ththat just shows your lack of skills at the evaluation of good people…

  22. JAB83 Says:

    Miko… Good points… Ones that I dont think we should stress to much as we will be sign plenty of pur own in the coming years…

    They proved with GMC… You will get paid if your truly worth it…

    Either way… Your concerns are valid

  23. Dan Solaz Says:

    @Poor Glennon

    Sheppard was one of my favorite bucs, but honestly is no where near player Jax is. #3 is special and a natural leader.. There will be no pissing contest between him and #11. Djax is not gonna be counted on to be our #1 receiver but his presence alone will open up things for everyone else on offense, and In my humble opinion will have more than his share of explosive plays in our offense

  24. Joeypoppems Says:

    @Miko

    They made offers to Shep and I assume to Akeem as well. Those guys chose to leave. I wont blame Licht for that.

  25. The bucfan 88 Says:

    Look I hated losing shep but hey i gotta a filling he wanted to be more than a special teams player witch I respect hey try ur luck with scam newton the most overrated QB in the history of the NFL but I hope he dose well but not against the Bucs but besides shep B-mac & spence are not really staters with spence he cannot beat one man cause gmac is taking double on average baker took on double teams in a 3-4 defense which is not easy by the way also B-mac is decent but shows up some games if u look at the tape on Wilcox you see a thumper & he’s not bad in coverage also if a stater takes his place this man can play special teams so yea & d-jaxs look at the CB’s he beaten & compare that to the NFC south CB heck the saints are trying to get Malcom butler they know they can’t cover mike or D-jaxs those of u who are doubting these singings need to speak softly watch the tape throw that lame stick u got down & get a big mothe f&@)$&$ stick go Bucs

  26. Bucsfanman Says:

    I guess some don’t understand just how “FREE” agency works. You don’t overpay role players because they’re “your” guys. AND, the role player in question has to WANT to stay here.
    I don’t get why everyone’s so caught up with Shep. Nice special teams player but what else? He couldn’t crack the lineup, plain and simple. Special teams players are a dime a dozen. Next!

  27. Mick Says:

    Miko, you’re an idiot and it’s obvious by your handle you’re looking for trouble.

  28. Ben Says:

    Comp pick pleeeaaasssse that never happens in Tampa. Nfl makes sure of that.

  29. unbelievable Says:

    What about Rodgers, Conte and Gholston?

  30. unbelievable Says:

    Shocking

  31. Joeypoppems Says:

    Resigning your own players doesnt count I believe. Only players who’s contract has expired from other teams. That is how I understand it anyway

  32. Miko Says:

    @Mick
    ….ouch, so hurtful….and your handle rhymes with ? …Mick The D__

  33. DavidBigBucsFan99 Says:

    MacD played much better than any comp pick. I’d rather have him back so he can grow in this system. He made some good plays last year and want to see him make even more. What fans should do is hit his twittef feed up talking how much they want him to stay.

  34. Buccaneer Bonzai Says:

    McDougald = our new Bennett. Even to the same team as Bennett.

  35. Buccaneer Bonzai Says:

    Miko Says
    “How do any of you not see this? We’ve stepped back!”

    I see it Miko. But good luck getting others to see it.

  36. The bucfan 88 Says:

    Bonzai if we get buda baker in the second round you will say bardly who that guy can play in a mike smith defense he reads coverage really well I saw him more than once ran the WR route more than once he’s a thumper he can play in the box and play deep it not like we are asking our safety to play there tight ends that’s what Levonte & kwons dose well if we get buda baker omg this secondary will be tough to throw on for years to come also I wanna sign vets look at the panthers this year they are practically rebuilding there defense last year they almost there whole secondary with Allen there LB Davis is about to retire they got a raw rookie LB with there best player get hurt in his prime look we got a team that we are building slowly for multiple Super Bowls not just a run

  37. TouchDownTampaBay Says:

    Bucsfanman – I am with you on Shep! What is all this talk about him? I doubt the majority of these fans complaining would have even realized he is no longer walking the sidelines in 2017 if the media hadn’t reported on it. I have watched every second of every Bucs game for several years and I can’t recall a single impact play that he made.

  38. Buccaneer Bonzai Says:

    Joeypoppems Says
    “They made offers to Shep and I assume to Akeem as well. Those guys chose to leave. I wont blame Licht for that.”

    First, making offers is not the same as making good offers. I can see letting Shep and Akeem go. But McDougald?

    If the idea of building through the draft is develop quality talent, then Licht should not have let McDougald go. The kid just wants more money. The offer he got from Licht must have been a low-ball offer.

    And by a ‘good’ offer, I don’t mean break the bank. McDougald knows he still has a lot to prove. But Licht may only be offering one year deals to these guys, just so he can claim he made an offer.

    Second, Miko is at least half right. While I think there is no denying D-Jax is an upgrade (since Vincent is gone, D-Jax is better than no one in his spot), the rest of these moves have totally been subpar.

    So far, he has signed:

    WR Darrel Walker
    WR DeSean Jackson
    DT Chris Baker
    S J.J. Wilcox
    LS Dax Dellenbach
    QB Sean Renfree
    C James Stone
    LB Jeff Knox
    RB Quayvon Hicks
    G Jarvis Harrison
    TE Kivon Cartwright
    K John Lunsford
    RB Blake Sims
    TE Tevin Westbrook
    T Michael Liedtke
    CB Cody Riggs
    S Isaiah Johnson
    LS Garrison Sanborn

    So I ask you, who among them is a great signing outside of DeSean Jackson and Darrel Walker (who none of you think will worl out but I think will turn out to be our best signing)?

    Chris Baker will be a rotational guy. He’s Akeems replacement, but Clinton McDonald is starting. Baker was brought in to help Clinton stay healthy. Not to start.

    Wilcox will be starting, but he doesn’t deserve it. Everyone talks about how he’s a hard hitter, but he doesn’t make many tackles, doesn’t cause fumbles and doesn’t get picks. His passes defended even suck. McDougald’s stats were nearly double his EACH YEAR.

    Dax Dellenbach is a 31 year old long snapper. 31. How long do you figure he will last? 2-3 years, given that he is healthy? I suppose that is acceptable for now. But certainly not a great signing.

    The rest on that list? Most of them are ‘Futures’ contracts.

    Outside of the new free agents, Licht resigned few players that were important:

    CB Josh Robinson (not a starting CB; a STer)
    RB Jacquizz Rodgers (not a starter)
    S Chris Conte (half the fans want him gone)

    The other resigns? Futures.

    The most important resigning was Bradley McDougald, and Licht dropped the ball on that.

  39. JAB83 Says:

    LOL… THE MOST IMPORTANT SIGNING WAS A BACK UP ROTATIONAL SIGNING…

    Yeah numbers dont lie, only the people interrupting them do…

    He was just signed to be a backup safty… We have him covered in spades… Likely was the least important guy to resign….

    Hands down Shep was the most important but he left for his own personal gain… He wants to be a top WR and he was about to be told your not one on this team… So he walked… Good for him…

    Bradley was made to look good because our D AS A WHOLE improved last year… Conte is far better than anyone admits… Tandy man is a baller and JJ has a very good skill set that is as good if not better than Bradly…

    Conclusion, me first guys are why we have been the first place team at LOSING…

    Culture change equals bye bye to likable people that dont fit the new culture…

    Bye bye dont mean anyone did anything wrong… It just means bye bye…

    Cant wait for some fans of depression and trolls to go bye bye when they are exposed by the truth

  40. nate12345 Says:

    Whats holding this team back now is a kicker and center! SIGN SOME!

  41. chipbuc Says:

    I think people are largely underestimating Bakers talent. He was said to be Washington’s best Dlineman the last 2 years. He’s a big upgrade to A. Spence, and McDonald. So lets wait and see before all the doom and gloom.

  42. The Graham Tram Says:

    Team chemistry is not the end goal. The ultimate goal is to create a winning culture. Working toward this goal and sharing the vision will foster team chemistry, regardless of whether you were drafted or picked up off the street. If not, it will be obvious to the leaders and your ass will get kicked to the curb. Seems to be how the Patriots work (though I hope the future Bucs will retain a little more soul). DJax seems like a passionate dude and wants to get the ball thrown deep. We’ll give him the opportunities because that’s our style- unlike Washington.

    I don’t think anyone can say safety was a position of strength last year. You make McDougald an offer, if he doesn’t take it, you draft a guy. If he gets signed for peanuts on a short contract, that is a “prove it” deal. I imagine it is understood McD has already proved himself to the bucs, so we the contract bar would be higher for us.

  43. JayBucBoi Says:

    Wish we’d held on to Shep.. Hope we get McDougald back.. but Baker is an upgrade over Spence, and we have shown guys that we take care of our own. Will be doing so even more soon as next year.

    I’m not one to look at the draft to replace a kat. I bet on the draft to add to what we already got and if a player proves to be an upgrade, we make moves based off that.
    …And nevamind Mick @Miko. I only scroll the comments looking for you, & the Joe’s rebuttal remarks.

  44. Lord Cornelius Says:

    lol holy sh1t what a bunch of crazy sh1t to read in the comments today

    We’re the oldest teams in league history? Really? Got stats to back it up? No you don’t and you’re insanely wrong. Going into the 2016 season after all roster cuts we were the 7th youngest team in the league.. We’ve added a 29/30/26 year old and will be drafting a slew of youngsters and likely have an even younger team roster next year. LOL @ people who hate on this team and make up sh1t to support their sad pathetic hatred.

    Djax isn’t an upgrade over Russel Sheppard? Losing Shep = epic failure? LOL ok man. No words needed for that. lol @ anyone thinking like this. Not worth a discussion.

    Chris Baker isn’t an upgrade over Spence? lmao Baker had more dominating impact plays last year alone than Spence has had in his entire career here. Easy. Spence isn’t worth 25% of Baker’s salary. PFF rated this as the single best signing in FA…but wah wah wah I like my homegrown backup worse-than-average players

    McDougald is an all star and Wilcox is camp meat. lol I don’t know when McDougald became so good. I spent a lot of time watching his play because I was high on him going into 2016 but I was not that impressed last year. He blew coverage as much as Conte imo; and was possibly our worst coverage liability in the back end most the year; but he finished pretty strong (mainly just that Seattle game) and can at least he can hit decent. There’s a reason there is not a huge market for him; and it’s not fair to compare him to a DE who was our best pass rusher the year before we let him go. It’d be an apt comparison if McDouglad was our best secondary player last year but no one would think that

  45. Joeypoppems Says:

    @Bonzai

    I was just saying that it isn’t like Licht just said ok good luck on your future endeavors to these guys.

    And Chris Baker will absolutely be a starter next to GMC. Will he rotate out? Of course he will, that is what good D-Lines have, depth to rotate guys out to keep them fresh. Hopefully GMC gets rotated out more as well.

    I would say the most important resigning Licht had was Gholston, but McDougald was 2nd imo. Look, we dont know what offer was made to McDougald. All I know is this. He is now visiting Seattle. If he joins Seattle he will be a backup. If he takes more money to be a backup then he is just in it for the money. At least Shep and Spence left for a bigger role.

    Honestly, I don’t think the drop off from McDougald to Wilcox will be as big as you think it will be.

  46. Poor Glennon Says:

    We should have kept Shep over Robinson. We need depth at WR more. Especially when #11 pulls his groin trying to reach for #3 garbage passes

  47. TouchDownTampaBay Says:

    Well said Lord Cornelius. I love it when guys make sh1t up. For the love of god Sheppard did nothing while here and now several guys in just the last few posts are acting like this is a big loss. Spence was an average back up and has been replaced by what experts are saying is a MAJOR upgrade. I agree with you on McDougald. He was getting burned quite often. For some reason guys are focusing on his good plays and ignoring all the times he was blowing coverage. The best one was the random uninformed comment that the Bucs are an old team. LOL.

  48. Miko Says:

    now it’s Shep bashing is it?…anyone here watch a game?…He always was the first man down the field on coverage units and with limited receiving opportunities always came through…TEAM player..not many of those around…

  49. Pickgrin Says:

    So many have been discounting the possibility of a comp pick this year – but I have been saying for awhile that Licht has this issue on his radar and would likely act accordingly so as to try and get us a comp pick if Glennon gets a big deal to go elsewhere. So far – we are on target – especially if McDougald and VJax sign with another team for decent $ before May 1st. If that happens and we stand pat in FA other than signing players who were released and don’t count – we might even get 2 comp picks.

  50. Earl Lee byrd Says:

    O no news from joebuc about the C/DC loving GM. Lol. Gayest title to use over and over and over. Super creative reporter

  51. Trubucfan22 Says:

    So miko says it is illogical to improve your teams roster. We should instead accept the lesser talent we drafted and pay them money they didnt earn. Yep totally logical…

  52. Trubucfan22 Says:

    Bonzai, Baker was brought here to be a starter. McDonald will be the back up. and with how often mcdonald is hurt he automatically takes himself out out of the starting position.