Packers Receive Two Compensatory Draft Picks
GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers were awarded a pair of compensatory picks by the NFL on Tuesday for losses incurred during free agency last offseason.
The Packers were awarded a fourth-round pick for losing center Corey Linsley to the Los Angeles Chargers and a seventh-round pick for losing running back Jamaal Williams to the Detroit Lions. Compensatory picks are located toward the end of Rounds 3-7. For Linsley, it’s pick No. 140 overall; for Williams, it’s pick No. 258.
The rounds of those picks were precisely where they were projected by OverTheCap.com’s Nick Korte.
There are two overriding factors in the league’s awarding of compensatory picks. First and foremost, teams that lose more or better unrestricted free agents than they sign are eligible for a comp pick. The second factor is annual salary. Playing time and postseason accolades also are factors.
For Green Bay, it’s fairly simple from the more-and-better perspective. Last offseason, the Packers didn’t sign any qualifying free agents. The comp-pick window closed on May 3, so the addition of linebacker De’Vondre Campbell in June didn’t factor in the equation. They did lose two players: Linsley inked a five-year, $62.5 million contract, then earned second-team All-Pro, while Williams signed a two-year, $6 million contract.
The maximum number of compensatory picks a team can receive is four. The Chargers and Rams each received four, while the Cardinals, Lions and 49ers gained three apiece.
The Packers could get four next year. Even with Davante Adams on the franchise tag and the re-signing of De’Vondre Campbell, Green Bay has five starters who will be free agents: receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling, offensive lineman Lucas Patrick, cornerbacks Rasul Douglas and Chandon Sullivan, and tight end Robert Tonyan. With Green Bay tight end against the cap, there is a chance none of those players will return.
Linebacker Oren Burks agreed to sign with San Francisco on Tuesday. He’s the team’s first defection but might not qualify for a pick. Because they were released, outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith and right tackle Billy Turner will not factor in the equation.
Last year, the Packers had three compensatory picks, which they used on guard Royce Newman in the fourth round, cornerback Shemar Jean-Charles in the fifth and linebacker Isaiah McDuffie in the sixth. They had four picks in 2018, which were used on receiver J’Mon Moore in the fourth, punter JK Scott and Valdes-Scantling in the fifth, and receiver Equanimeous St. Brown in the sixth.
That’s a rather dreary history. However, running back Aaron Jones was a fifth-round compensatory pick in 2017, and linebacker Blake Martinez and defensive lineman Dean Lowry were fourth-round comp picks in 2016. Defensive lineman Mike Daniels (fourth round, 2012), cornerback Davon House (fourth round, 2011), guard Josh Sitton (fourth round, 2009) and center Scott Wells (seventh round, 2004) were hits, as well.
The league began awarding compensatory picks in 1994. The Ravens (55), Cowboys (49) and Packers (47) have received the most. The Saints and Browns (13 each) have received the fewest.
