As Expected, No Comp Picks For Vikings — But 2025 Could Be Different
The NFL officially awarded compensatory draft picks on Friday, and as expected, the Vikings did not receive any.
Comp picks are awarded using a formula that is based on the contracts signed by players who teams lose in free agency and the AAV of players those teams sign in free agency. In simpler terms, the Vikings' free agent departures last offseason were more than cancelled out by the free agents they signed. (There are also comp picks awarded when teams lose minority coaches or front office staffers to head coach or GM jobs).
Players who are released from their contracts — like Dalvin Cook, Adam Thielen, and Eric Kendricks — don't count towards the comp pick formula.
While the Vikings won't have any comp picks in this year's draft, they could have some significant ones in 2025. If Kirk Cousins and/or Danielle Hunter leave in free agency, they'll almost certainly sign contracts that would result in the Vikings receiving a third-round comp pick (unless they sign players to similarly-sized contracts to cancel it out). Even though those players had void years in their contracts, they'll still be eligible for the comp pick formula.
Other Vikings in-house free agents who could leave and factor into the formula include Jordan Hicks, D.J. Wonnum, Dalton Risner, K.J. Osborn, and Marcus Davenport.
Even without comp picks, the Vikings are slated to have nine selections in April's draft:
- 1st round (No. 11 overall)
- 2nd round (No. 42 overall)
- 4th round (from DET)
- 4th round
- 5th round (from KC)
- 5th round (from CLE)
- 6th round (from CAR through JAX)
- 6th round (from LV through NE)
- 7th round (conditional from ATL through ARZ)
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