Rams tentatively set to receive comp pick in early stages of free agency

Michael Hoecht will return a 6th/7th round compensatory selection after signing with Buffalo Bills

It’s still early in free agency, but the Los Angeles Rams are seemingly on the compensatory pick board for the year—at least for now.

The most important caveat in the NFL’s compensatory selection formula is the fact that teams’ free agent spending can offset the return capital should they have a player sign elsewhere. That seems to be the case between Bobby Brown leaving Los Angeles to sign with the Carolina Panthers and the Rams bringing in Poona Ford. Signing Ford effectively washes out any comp pick LA would have received in return.

But LA is in the black for now thanks to Michael Hoecht’s reported deal with the Buffalo Bills. The Rams are set to receive a fringe sixth or seventh round selection, at least for now and pending any other deals they make in the remaining stages of free agency.

The Rams have historically been very strategic about how they approach the compensatory formula. They often opt to sign recently released players—like Leonard Floyd and Davante Adams, for example— instead of individuals on expiring contracts.

LA also takes the formula in considering when making trades, knowing that should the player leave in free agency they can recoup some of the cost to acquire that player. Think Von Miller when LA brought him in for the run to the Super Bowl. The Rams gave second and third round picks to the Denver Broncos for what become effectively a mid-season rental. When Miller signed with the Bills in free agency he returned a fourth-round comp pick. Those don’t wash out one-for-one; however, it still lessons the blow in terms of the overall trade package and aftereffects.

Nothing is set in stone quite yet, but the Rams do find themselves on the right side of the comp pick formula. Fans follow these picks closely, and that’s noteworthy enough for now.