The Kansas City Chiefs were awarded a sixth round compensatory choice and the 199th choice overall in the upcoming NFL Draft to be held in late April with their announcement today that finalizes the overall order. The compensatory list comes every year around this time as the NFL supplements teams who lost key free agents the previous season and failed to sign someone of equal value.
In light of the formula used, the Carolina Panthers receive the most valuable compensatory pick, a nice claim for a team with the first overall pick in the draft and arguably the most holes to fill on their roster. The Panthers lost free agent Julius Peppers to the Bears last year, so they were rewarded with a third round that will be the only compensatory pick awarded among the top 100 players chosen in the draft.
The Chiefs received their sixth rounder due to the loss of offensive lineman Wade Smith to the Texans, giving Scott Pioli another possible trade chip to move around in the draft by freeing up other picks. Anything helps and several teams received at least a minor boost with today's announcement.