How Did Kansas City Chiefs Get Two 5th Round Compensatory Picks in NFL Draft 2024

The Kansas City Chiefs will be making moves in the 5th round of the 2024 NFL Draft! Most of the time, the first-round compensatory picks in the NFL Draft, tend to be advantageous for the teams to get the best available prospect of the year.

The NFL has given out 34 compensatory draft picks for the 2024 NFL Draft, which will go to 14 different teams. Despite being the champions of the 2023 season, the Chiefs will get round 5. That clearly shows the picks have nothing to do with the Super Bowl winners; as it is determined by a formula.

What’s the compensatory picks and why the Chiefs got no. 5?

The Chiefs get a fifth-round compensatory pick for the 2024 NFL Draft, that will be the 172nd overall selection. Compensatory picks are given to teams that lose more or better free agents than they acquire in a season. The value of the pick is determined by a league formula based on factors like the player’s salary, playing time, and postseason awards. The NFL Management Council came up with this formula.

In this case, the Chiefs lost six qualifying free agents, including players like “Orlando Brown Jr. to the Bengals ($16M) and Andrew Wylie to the Commanders ($8M), wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster to the Patriots ($8.5M), safety Juan Thornhill to the Browns ($7M), receiver Mecole Hardman to the Jets ($4.5M) and defensive tackle Khalen Saunders to the Saints ($4.1M),” while signing four. These four qualifying compensatory free agents are Jawaan Taylor, Charles Omenihu, Drue Tranquill, and Mike Edwards. However, they gave one compensatory pick to re-sign Mecole Hardman during the season.

Overall, the Chiefs will have seven picks in the 2024 NFL draft. They are — Round 1, Pick 32; Round 2, Pick 64; Round 3, Pick 95; Round 4, Pick 131; Round 5, Pick 158 (from Dallas); Round 5, Pick 172 (Compensatory); Round 7, Pick 252. Meanwhile, the Jaguars, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Los Angeles Rams, and San Francisco got the third-round compensatory pick. And the fourth-round is given to the 49ers, Buffalo, and Baltimore. The Jets gets the last pick.

Besides these compensatory picks, there are special compensatory picks categories as well.

The compensatory & non-compensatory picks in NFL Draft

The NFL announced that 14 teams received a total of 34 compensatory NFL draft picks, with the 49ers and Rams getting five each. These picks are given based on the number of compensatory free agents a team loses.

According to NFL policy, a team can’t receive more than four compensatory picks in a single season, except for special compensatory selections. These special picks are awarded when a minority employee is hired as a head coach or general manager by another team. This initiative aims to promote equal employment opportunities.

The Rams and 49ers received special picks due to a 2020 agreement to encourage diversity in NFL clubs. These picks are given in the third round of the NFL draft.

Read more: Which College Team Has the Most NFL Draft Prospects in 2024