Tag: Bengals compensatory picks

Bengals win big with comp pick and cap space via Vonn Bell’s return

Two big wins for the Bengals while bringing back Vonn Bell.

The Cincinnati Bengals get Vonn Bell, a compensatory pick and free cap space in one free-agency move.

More important than anything is Bell’s return to help fix communication errors that led to a young secondary coughing up more explosive plays than other any team last year.

But the fine details sure don’t hurt, either.

For example, as Over The Cap’s Nick Korte pointed out, the Bengals earned a sixth-round compensatory pick that came in part because of Bell’s departure, yet he’ll be on their roster the same year as said draft pick.

To top it all off, the Panthers will effectively pay Bell’s salary for next season. By cutting him after the first year of his contract, Carolina pays him $6 million this year. The Bengals, meanwhile, signed him for the veteran minimum.

These are small side notes to Bell’s return. But getting an extra draft pick and watching another team essentially pay up for him to play in Cincinnati in 2024 are nice bonuses. The team, of course, will be more focused on how he can rotate with and mentor Dax Hill and Jordan Battle alongside new free agent arrival Geno Stone.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1]

NFL admits compensatory pick error, Bengals earn third-round selection

The league has upgraded the Bengals from a sixth-round pick to a third-round pick.

When the Cincinnati Bengals were awarded two sixth-round compensatory draft picks by the NFL, questions were immediately raised about whether the league got it wrong.

Specifically, experts pointed out that a mis-weighing of the contracts signed by Jessie Bates (with Atlanta) and Orlando Brown Jr. (with Cincinnati) should have allotted the Bengals an extra third-round pick instead.

And it turns out there was a mistake.

Monday, the NFL re-awarded compensatory picks, revising the original announcement and the Bengals were awarded a third-round pick.

That means the Bengals go from a late-200s pick from the original sixth-round comp pick to No. 97 overall.

In the league’s valuation of contracts on the first pass, it weighed Bates as a fourth-round value, canceling out the comp pick possibility, as Brown was also weighed as a fourth-rounder. In Monday’s revision, it appears Bates is a third-round value, earning the team an additional high pick.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1]

Bengals compensatory picks questions begin after NFL’s announcement

Did the NFL short the Bengals a comp pick this year?

The Cincinnati Bengals received two compensatory picks this year for the 2024 NFL draft, the first time they have received extra picks from the comp picks process since 2021.

But the two sixth-round selections awarded by the NFL could be in error, according to one expert on such matters.

Nick Korte of Over The Cap, the go-to name on comp picks, says the league’s valuation of contracts and values of players lost to other teams might’ve cost the Bengals as high as a third-round compensatory selection.

According to Korte, Jessie Bates should have been valued as a third-rounder and not a fourth. As a fourth, Cincinnati’s losing him was canceled out by the team’s signing of Orlando Brown Jr. in free agency:

Translation: There’s a scenario where, if Bates gets valued as a third-rounder, the Bengals earn third-round and sixth-round comp picks instead of two sixes. It should go without saying, but the difference in value between a third and sixth-rounder is massive — from the late 90s to early 200s difference.

This is worth keeping in mind, if nothing else, because there have been errors in the comp pick process in the recent past. In 2015, an error caused a revision of three comp picks. In 2021, a team was shorted a pick that was later corrected.

That doesn’t mean there’s an error here, especially when much of this process is secretive-feeling. But given the value of the pick differential pointed out here, it’s certainly a point worth raising.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1]

Bengals earn 2 selections in final 2024 compensatory pick process

The NFL makes the Bengals’ comp picks official.

As expected, the Cincinnati Bengals have earned a pair of compensatory picks in the 2024 NFL draft.

The Bengals earned two additional sixth-round picks, No. 208 and 214, per the NFL’s memo on Friday, which outlined the leaguewide compensatory picks process.

Both picks effectively match projections for the losses of safety Vonn Bell to the Carolina Panthers in free agency and running back Samaje Perine to the Denver Broncos (or Hayden Hurst to the Panthers, depending on the weighing of contracts).

A big signing like Orlando Brown Jr. last offseason offset the loss of Jessie Bates to the open market in the league’s compensatory process.

Given the team’s active big spending in free agency lately, compensatory picks have taken a backseat to the roster-rebuilding process and is also part of the conversation when debating whether the Bengals should keep or trade wide receiver Tee Higgins.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1]

Bengals net 2 selections in final 2024 compensatory pick projection

The Bengals earn extra comp picks in final projections.

The Cincinnati Bengals will have two compensatory picks in the 2024 NFL draft, according to the final projections from Over The Cap’s Nick Korte.  Korte projects the Bengals land an extra fifth-round pick and an extra seventh-round pick, bringing their overall count in the draft to nine selections.

The fifth-round pick would be awarded because of the loss of safety Vonn Bell to the Carolina Panthers in free agency, while the seventh-rounder would be due to the loss of running back Samaje Perine to the Denver Broncos.

Compensatory picks are awarded by weighing a team’s signings and departures in free agency. In Over The Cap’s cancellation chart, the signing of Orlando Brown Jr. negated a possible third-round comp pick for losing Jessie Bates, while the arrival of Nick Scott canceled out the loss of Hayden Hurst.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1]

Bengals compensatory pick update after quiet start to free agency

The Bengals have maxed out their compensatory picks, at least.

A slow start to free agency for the Cincinnati Bengals has them looking like the old Bengals that overvalued compensatory draft picks compared to the rest of the league.

Early on, it seemed like the Bengals didn’t have a choice when losing Jessie Bates and Vonn Bell.

But with free agency officially opened, the Bengals have maxed out their compensatory picks in next year’s draft, according to Nick Korte of Over The Cap.

They are as follows:

  • Jessie Bates: 3rd rounder
  • Vonn Bell: 5th rounder
  • Hayden Hurst: 6th rounder
  • Samaje Perine: 7th rounder

The Bengals can still offset some of these “gains” by signing outside free agents, but they have been notably quiet — as expected. Cincinnati’s front office has been very open about taking a future-minded approach to this offseason.

Even so, that presumably won’t stop the team from making veteran signings to replace some of the above guys before the draft. A notable byproduct of this slow-and-steady approach to the market, though, is piling up extra draft picks.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1]

Bengals compensatory pick update after losing Jessie Bates, Vonn Bell

A look at the comp picks the Bengals could earn after losing free agents.

The Cincinnati Bengals have mostly sat out the compensatory pick process in recent years while rebuilding.

But the team doesn’t have much of a say in the matter this year.

The Bengals, as expected, lost safety Jessie Bates to the Atlanta Falcons. In a surprise development, the team lost fellow starting safety Vonn Bell to the Carolina Panthers. 

According to Nick Korte of Over The Cap, the Bengals will net a third-round pick for losing Bates and a fifth-round pick for losing Bell.

Compensatory picks aren’t a win-now thing that helps the team compete in 2023, but it’s better than nothing for losing Bates to the fourth-highest safety contract ever and Bell choosing more guaranteed cash and a big Year 2 cap hit they didn’t want to afford.

Of course, the Bengals could influence this process by getting active on outside free agents and they very well could. They probably will take a look at the best Bell replacement free agents on the market and have needs at spots like tight end and cornerback, too.

But for now, the Bengals stand to gain two extra picks in the next draft.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1]

Bengals get no compensatory draft picks in 2023 NFL draft

As expected, the Bengals sit this one out — but likely won’t next year.

The Cincinnati Bengals have moved far away from their past reliance on the compensatory pick process during the Zac Taylor era.

Yet that past reliance still helps them chart highly among teams with the most compensatory picks.

Late this week, the NFL announced the compensatory picks awarded to teams and finalized the draft order. The Bengals, as expected, were awarded zero extra picks.

That’s something sure to change this time next year when the NFL announces comp picks again. The Bengals have a huge list of important free agents they could lose this year, headlined by Jessie Bates, Vonn Bell, Germaine Pratt and Hayden Hurst. All could potentially factor into the compensatory pick process next offseason. 

For now, the Bengals get zero extra picks, keeping them at seven in this year’s draft and still remaining high up the list of teams receiving these extra picks:

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1]

Bengals blanked in 2020 NFL draft compensatory picks process

The Bengals missed out on the compensatory process this year.

[jwplayer 99PZYacN]

It’s now official: the Cincinnati Bengals won’t have any compensatory picks in the 2020 NFL draft.

This was a well-known point for a while now, as plenty of projections noted the Bengals wouldn’t have any extra picks (hit the link for an explanation of the rules).

The NFL announced the picks awarded to teams Tuesday. Lately. the Bengals have gone a bit away from their historical approach of leaning into the compensatory process. That figures to continue this offseason as evidence continues to mount that the team wants to be more active than usual in free agency.

What Tuesday’s announcement does do is solidify pick No. 107 for the Bengals to start the fourth round. And despite no picks this year, the Bengals are still sixth since 1994 in compensatory picks received.

[vertical-gallery id=29215]