Vikings Expected to Receive Two Compensatory Picks Friday

Image courtesy of Vikings.com

The Minnesota Vikings are projected to receive two compensatory picks in the 2018 NFL Draft. According to Nick Korte of OverTheCap.com, the official announcement is expected tomorrow.

Compensatory picks are rewarded to teams that lose more or better free agents than they acquire. The method of determining which teams receive picks depends on multiple factors, including but not limited to the following:

  • How many notable free agents a team signs in the offseason
  • The contract value of a team’s departing free agent(s)
  • The amount of games played for each player on their new team
  • Player performance including postseason honors

Once compensatory picks are awarded, the team receives the selections in the following season’s draft. For example, the Vikings are projected to receive two sixth-round picks in this year’s draft as compensation for losing Cordarrelle Patterson and Adrian Peterson last offseason.

According to OTC’s Cancellation Chart, the offseason loses of free agents Matt Kalil, Rhett EllisonCaptain Munnerlyn, and Andre Smith last year were cancelled out by the Vikings’ acquisitions of Riley ReiffMike RemmersLatavius Murray and Case Keenum.

Here’s a complete breakdown of all the projected 2018 NFL compensatory picks from OTC:

The Projection***

Team Rd Compensated Free Agent APY Snaps Rank
ARI 3 Calais Campbell $15,000,000 77.4% 18
HOU 3 A.J. Bouye $13,500,000 97.4% 28
CIN 3 Kevin Zeitler $12,000,000 100.0% 31
DEN 3 Russell Okung $13,250,000 87.1% 37
GB 3 T.J. Lang $9,500,000 77.4% 88
BAL 3 Ricky Wagner $9,500,000 75.9% 89
ARI 4 Tony Jefferson $8,500,000 99.1% 103
NE 4 Jabaal Sheard $8,500,000 83.4% 119
NYG 4 Johnathan Hankins $9,000,000 63.6% 127
DAL 4 Ronald Leary $8,925,000 63.0% 133
DAL 4 Barry Church $6,500,000 95.0% 188
CIN 5 Andrew Whitworth $11,250,000 88.8% 32
GB 5 Micah Hyde $6,000,000 96.1% 222
DAL 5 Brandon Carr $6,000,000 93.5% 228
GB 5 J.C. Tretter $5,583,333 100.0% 245
DAL 5 Morris Claiborne $5,000,000 82.2% 286
GB 5 Jared Cook $5,000,000 78.6% 288
OAK 6 Latavius Murray $4,900,000 37.7% 330
KC 6 Nick Foles $5,500,000 18.7% 333
HOU 6 John Simon $4,666,667 43.5% 336
OAK 6 Malcolm Smith $5,250,000 0.1% 344
MIN 6 Cordarrelle Patterson $4,000,000 42.5% 380
HOU 6 Quintin Demps $4,406,250 16.7% 399
OAK 6 D.J. Hayden $3,500,000 44.8% 431
MIN 6 Adrian Peterson $3,500,000 29.0% 451
OAK 6 Nate Allen $3,400,000 34.3% 456
LAC 7 Manti Te’o $2,450,000 47.4% 587
CIN 7 Margus Hunt $2,050,000 53.7% 620
CIN 7 Karlos Dansby $1,900,000 86.9% 625
ARI 7 Alex Okafor $1,935,000 45.8% 651
TB 7 Bradley McDougald $1,800,000 61.7% 660
ATL 7 Tom Compton $1,850,000 34.5% 673
Compensation over 32-pick limit; not awarded
BAL 7 Vladimir Ducasse $1,166,667 75.7% 787
NYG 7 Coty Sensabaugh $1,300,000 24.5% 813
ATL 7 Eric Weems $1,300,000 1.5% 815
NE 7 LeGarrette Blount $1,200,000 31.2% 817
HOU 7 Don Jones $1,100,000 0.1% 894

***This projection is subject to change.

Beginning in 2017 teams were able to trade compensatory picks. With the official announcement expected Friday, teams should know their full draft arsenal before heading to the NFL Combine in Indianapolis next week, where there could be some trades hashed out.

If the Vikings are indeed awarded two sixth-round picks, the team would be equipped with seven selections in April’s Draft. Minnesota is minus a 4th-round pick due to the Sam Bradford trade last season and down a 7th-round pick from Tramaine Brock trade this season. Here’s a projected look at the Vikings’ 2018 draft picks:

  1. Round 1 – Pick #30
  2. Round 2 – Pick #62
  3. Round 3 – Pick #94
  4. Round 5 – Pick #TBD
  5. Round 6 – Pick #TBD
  6. Round 6 – Pick #TBD
  7. Round 6 – Pick #TBD

Vikings Territory will keep you updated with any developments. H/T to VT’s Jordan Reid for posting this on Twitter Thursday afternoon and to OTC’s Nick Korte for his hard work on the projections.


For those of you who’d like a brief explanation of how NFL compensatory picks are awarded, the good folks at SB Nation published this YouTube video which I believe does a good job of explaining the process in layman’s terms.

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