Tampa Bay Buccaneers Awarded 6th Round 2021 NFL Draft Compensatory Pick

In addition to earning a 6th round compensatory draft pick, the Bucs will have Mr. Irrelevant for 2021 with the final pick of the NFL Draft.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were one of 17 franchises awarded at least one compensatory draft pick in the upcoming 2021 NFL Draft, the league announced Wednesday.

The Bucs are receiving a sixth-round pick which is the 33rd selection in the round and the 217th overall draft pick next month. In addition, the Bucs will officially be able to draft 'Mr. Irrelevant' for 2021 with the final pick of the NFL Draft because no seventh-round compensatory draft picks were awarded this year.

Under the rules for compensatory draft selections, a team losing more or better compensatory free agents (CFA) than it acquires in the previous year is eligible to receive compensatory draft picks.

Compensatory free agents are determined by a formula based on salary, playing time, and postseason honors. The formula was developed by the NFL management council. Not every free agent lost or signed by a club is covered by this formula. 

While the Bucs lost offensive tackle Beau Allen and defensive end Carl Nassib in last year's free agency, the team only receives one compensatory pick for the departure of wide receiver Breshad Perriman, who signed with the New York Jets.

Even though the Bucs qualified for a compensatory selection under the net loss formula, the team will not receive that pick because the final numerical value of the CFA who was lost ranked 33rd or lower among the final numerical values of all compensatory selections.

No club may receive more than four compensatory picks in any one year. If a club qualifies for more than four compensatory picks after offsetting each CFA lost by each CFA gained of an equal or higher value, the four highest remaining selections will be awarded to the club.

The Bucs are one of six teams receiving only one compensatory pick in April's draft, while the Dallas Cowboys are the only franchise receiving the maximum four compensatory picks.

From 1994 through 2021, the Bucs have received a total of 21 compensatory picks in franchise history. In total, 876 compensatory picks have been awarded since 1994 throughout the entire league.

As for the final pick in the NFL Draft, this will mark just the second time ever in franchise history that Tampa Bay will select 'Mr. Irrelvent.' The only other time when the Bucs selected last came in 1993 when Tampa Bay took Akron kicker Daron Alcorn at the end of the eighth round.

Perhaps the most successful 'Mr. Irrelevant' is 2009's Ryan Succop, who of course joined the Bucs this past season helping the team win Super Bowl LV over the Kansas City Chiefs. Ironically, the Chiefs were the ones to select Succop in the 2009 NFL Draft as he eventually became one of the best kickers in the league.

Succop became the first 'Mr. Irrelevant' to win a Super Bowl championship. Succop has converted 83% of his field-goal attempts in his career and 96.3% of his extra-point attempts.

The 2021 NFL Draft is scheduled to be held April 29-May 1, in Cleveland.

Stay tuned to AllBucs.com for updates on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFL Draft, free agency, and more.