Steelers awarded a third round compensatory draft pick in 2017 NFL Draft

Sometimes projections are wrong, and sometimes it is really good when they are wrong.

This is the situation for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who were projected to not gain a compensatory pick higher than a 5th round selection, but were awarded a 3rd round pick for the loss of offensive tackle Kelvin Beachum prior to the 2016 regular season.

Fittipaldo, of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette later amended his tweet with the fact the Steelers’ top pick is No. 105, and not 104.

However, the other important facet to remember for the Steelers, who now gained an 8th overall pick in the upcoming draft, is how teams can now trade their compensatory picks, something they weren’t able to do in years past.

While some might view this pick as compensation for just losing Beachum, the equation, although unknown to the general public, is more complicated than that. Last year the Steelers lost Antwon Blake, Beachum, Will Johnson, Terence Garvin, Sean Spence and Steve McLendon. They added Ladarius Green, Ricardo Mathews and Ryan Harris via free agency.

The Steelers pick was nice, but 12 of the 32 compensatory picks went to the Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Chiefs and Cincinnati Bengals, who all received four compensatory picks.