OWINGS MILLS — The Baltimore Ravens gained some ammunition for a deep draft as they were awarded a pair of fifth-round compensatory draft selections by the NFL.
The Ravens now own the 164th and 165th overall selections of the April draft, marking the first time since 2008 that they have been given any compensator picks.
And they got the picks as compensation for losing free agent defensive linemen Dwan Edwards and Justin Bannan to the Buffalo Bills and Denver Broncos, respectively.
Dating back to 1995, the Ravens have been given a league-high 31 compensatory picks.
The Ravens now own nine draft picks, including: first-round (26th overall), second round (58th), third round (90th), fourth round (122nd), the pair of fifth-rounders, sixth round (175th, acquired from St. Louis Rams in a trade for wide receiver Mark Clayton and seventh round (215th overall, acquired from Philadelphia Eagles in a trade for outside linebacker Antwan Barnes.)
The NFL gave 32 compensatory selections to 23 different teams.
Under the NFL management council’s archaic formula for compensatory draft selections, which involves salary, playing time and postseason honors, a team that loses more or better compensatory free agents than it acquires in the previous years is eligible to receive compensatory draft picks.
It’s supposed to equal the net loss of compensatory free agents with a limit of four.
The first round of the draft is set for April 28 at 8 p.m. with the second and third rounds on April 29 at 6 p.m. followed by the fourth through seventh rounds on April 30 at noon.
