03/31 — The NFL has just announced that it has awarded 32 compensatory picks in the 2008 draft. It's not necessarily a surprise that the Jets did not get any of those picks.

Under terms of the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement, a team losing more or better compensatory free agents than it acquires in a year is eligible to receive compensatory draft picks. Compensatory free agents are determined by a formula based on salary, playing time and postseason honors. Not every FA lost or signed by a club is covered by this formula, which was developed by the NFL Management Council.

Last year, the Jets signed four unrestricted FAs from other teams — DE Kenyon Coleman, LB David Bowens, QB Marques Tuiasosopo and FB Darian Barnes — while losing only one of their own — FB B.J. Askew.

The bad news, in a sense, for the Jets, is that the two selections they have in the fourth round have been pushed down four slots due to the awarding of four compensatory picks at the end of Round 3 (although all teams in Round 4 knew they would lose some position due to the extra choices).

Here is a summary of the Jets' six picks in the upcoming draft, as released by the league this afternoon:

The Jets have received only five picks since compensatories were first awarded in 1994. Four came in 2004, with T Adrian Jones being selected in the fourth round and three more players — DE Trevor Johnson, RB Derrick Ward and S Rashad Washington — taken consecutively in Round 7.

Then in 2006 the Green & White received their highest compensatory pick ever, the last pick of Round 3, 97th overall, and with it took S Eric Smith.

The five compensatories are the fewest awarded under the system to any team that has been in existence all 15 years the system has been in place. The only teams with fewer compensatories are Cleveland with one and Houston with three. Baltimore has the most compensatories in that span with 29.