Mailbag: OTAs, supplemental draft, comp picks, more

The New York Giants are done with their voluntary offseason program. Now, only next week’s mandatory mini-camp remains before the players head off for summer vacation. With that backdrop, let’s dig into the Big Blue View mailbag.

Theresa Cicio asks: Now that we’re done with another week of OTA’s, what is the biggest difference you see from last year to this year so far, from a coaching standpoint in practice (both good and bad if any)? Would the differences be more noticeable once training camp starts? So far from what you see, what strikes you most from this coaching staff that should gives us confidence that this year may be better?

Ed says: The biggest practice difference, to be honest, is the lack of music. There is music at the beginning of practice during stretching, but not after that. It was a constant the past couple of years. There are a few drills that are somewhat different than what we saw from either Tom Coughlin or Ben McAdoo. The real difference, though, is that there is a professional, positive attitude that didn’t exist a year ago.

David Clancy asks: Will we receive any compensation picks for Justin Pugh, Devon Kennard, or Weston Richburg? They all signed fairly decent contracts.

Ed says: Over The Cap, which is my go-to site for compensatory pick information, is not projecting the Giants to receive any compensatory picks. Remember, the Giants signed Nate Solder, a higher-ranked free agent than any of the guys they lost.

For educational purposes, here is a little bit of OTC’s explanation on how they make their projections:

As the NFL explains, compensatory picks are awarded to teams that lose more or better compensatory free agents than they acquire. The number of picks a team can receive equals the net loss of compensatory free agents, up to a maximum of four. Compensatory free agents are determined by a secret formula based on salary, playing time and postseason honors. Not every free agent lost or signed is covered by the formula.

Although the formula has never been revealed, by studying the compensatory picks that have been awarded since they began in 1994, I’ve determined that the primary factor in the value of the picks awarded is the average annual value of the contract the player signed with his new team, with an adjustment for playing time and a smaller adjustment for postseason honors.

What it amounts to is this — it’s complicated, and the Giants probably aren’t getting any compensatory picks next season.

Danielle Guarneri asks: If the Giants take Sam Beal in the supplemental draft how does it affect their cap? Does the rookie wage scale apply to players taken in the supplemental draft?

Ed says: I had to reach out to Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap for the answer to this one. Per Jason, slotting of supplemental draft picks matches the regular draft. So, a Round 3 supplemental pick would be in the same salary slot as a Round 3 pick in the regular draft.