Falcons will know in the next few months if they land any compensatory draft picks. The picks, ranging from the end of the third round to the end of the seventh round, are awarded to teams that lose major players in free agency and fail to sign big name replacements.
The system rewards teams that develop players, and their replacements, through the draft. If a team loses a top player, but signs another just as expensive, those cancel out. Teams like the New England Patriots clean up with comp picks nearly every year. Just this year they lost defensive end Trey Flowers and offensive tackle Trent Brown in free agency, and predictably, did not sign anyone expensive.