Though the compensation formula is arcane and unpredictable, don’t expect the Pittsburgh Steelers to be walking away with an extra pick in this year’s draft. Over the Cap’s Nick Korte posted his final projections for comp picks and the Steelers don’t appear anywhere on the list.
The Washington Redskins would receive the highest comp pick after losing Kirk Cousins to the Minnesota Vikings last offseason. The New England Patriots are projected to earn a pair of third round picks for the departures of Nate Solder and Malcolm Butler. The Los Angeles Rams and Carolina Panthers are also expected to earn third round picks. 32 total compensatory picks are awarded each draft, getting us to the yearly draft total of 256 selections.
While the Steelers did lose Chris Hubbard to the Cleveland Browns, it was their only substantial loss. Signing Morgan Burnett helped cancel that out. Currently, Pittsburgh has seven picks, one in each round except for zero in the fifth and two in the sixth as per terms of the Ryan Switzer deal.
Arond the AFC north, only the Baltimore Ravens are expected to receive a high comp pick. They lost Ryan Jensen to Tampa Bay last March, becoming the highest paid center in football. Korte says they may also receive a late 7th round pick.
The Cincinnati Bengals are projected to receive three sixth round picks, compensating for the losses of Andre Smith, Chris Smith, and A.J. McCarron. Like Pittsburgh, the Cleveland Browns aren’t expected to receive any compensation.
Korte writes he believes the league will release the official list of compensation picks on February 22nd, shortly before the NFL combine. A recent rule change has made compensation picks tradeable.
Pittsburgh didn’t receive a comp pick last season. Their last such pick came in 2017, a third rounder used to select James Conner.
