2023 NFL Draft: How do comp picks work in the NFL?

The NFL Draft in 2023 is coming up soon, which means a host of interesting customs and practices will come with it. Teams will begin to evaluate their draft possibilities in the weeks leading up to it, and the compensatory picks awarded last Thursday provided the finishing touch.

What are comp picks?

Comp picks upend the draft's equilibrium and give some franchises more picks to restock their squads or use as leverage in trades on draft day. They are handed out to teams that lose key players or staff.

Comp selections are also provided to franchises that sustained a net loss of compensating free agents or due to the departure of particular employees. The concept is intended to maintain a healthy competitive environment for teams that experience significant free-agent losses.

In 2020, the NFL started giving teams who lost a minority coach or high-ranking football executive to another team compensation picks. The awarded clubs receive third-round picks in the next two drafts or third-round picks in the next three drafts if another franchise hires two minority staff members.

How many comp picks are there annually?

Like many other aspects of compensatory picks, there isn't a set number of selections provided annually. The league gave 16 different clubs 39 comp selections in 2022. In 2021, 17 teams received 36 comp choices.

However, no team may acquire more than four selections in a single draft. After computations, if a team is still eligible for more than four comp picks, they will receive the four highest remaining picks.

2023 comp picks by teams

Every year, the NFL makes a quiet announcement about distributing its compensatory draft picks. There are fewer loud headlines and more whistling than discussions on social media. Perhaps it should garner more emphasis, given the difference that former comp selections have made in the league.

Let's look at the teams with comp picks in the 2023 NFL draft:

1. San Francisco 49ers – 7
2. Los Angeles Rams – 4
3. Kansas City Chiefs – 3
4. Arizona Cardinals – 3
5. Dallas Cowboys – 3
6. Green Bay Packers – 2
7. New York Giants – 2
8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 2
9. Las Vegas Raiders – 2
10. Washington Commanders – 2
11. New England Patriots – 2
12. New Orleans Saints – 1
13. Minnesota Vikings – 1
14. Cleveland Browns – 1
15. Houston Texans – 1
16. Chicago Bears – 1