What to Know: Packers projected 3 compensatory draft picks in 2023
By Paul Bretl
The Green Bay Packers were slated to have eight draft picks in 2023. That total number is now projected to be 11, with them receiving three compensatory draft picks.
In short, if a team loses more compensatory free agents than they sign, they will get a draft pick in return for the difference. Not every free agent is a compensatory free agent; there is a formula that takes into account the playing time of that free agent, their salary, and any postseason honors they received.
According to Nick Korte of Over the Cap, he projects that the Packers will receive a fifth-round pick for losing Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who signed with Kansas Coty, and two seventh-round picks for Oren Burks, who joined San Francisco, as well as Chandon Sullivan, who spent 2022 with Minnesota.
Other notes on this from Korte include that both Burks and Sullivan just sneak in as compensatory picks for the Packers but because they are on the fringe of qualifying, either could end up on the outside by the NFL’s calculations, which means there would be no seventh round picks for the Packers in that instance. On the flip side, Pat O’Donnell does not qualify by Korte’s projections but is another potential seventh round pick for Green Bay depending on how the math works out for the NFL.
Another added wrinkle in this is that the Packers could gain a sixth round compensatory pick for losing Lucas Patrick to Chicago, but that depends on how things shake out with Jarran Reed, Sullivan, Burks, and O’Donnell. As you can tell, there are a number of moving parts with all of this.
This now gives the Packers a first-round pick, a second-round pick, a third-round pick, a fourth-round pick, a pair of fifth-round picks, and five in the seventh.
While those aren’t premium draft picks by any means, it does give Brian Gutkeunst some additional draft capital to utilize in a trade if needed. Trading up is something that he has done often since taking over as general manager. Or perhaps with the Packers not having a ton of free agent dollars to spend, they’ll choose to use all 11 draft picks to help round out the roster.
With four seventh-round picks in 2022, the Packers used each of those selections. They also landed Kingsley Enagbare in Round 5, who gave them some quality snaps at edge rusher when Rashan Gary went down. Other recent late-round draft picks include Jon Runyan, who has been a starter along the offensive line, as well as core special teams players in Tariq Carpenter and Isaiah McDuffie. Wide receiver Samori Toure also had some offensive snaps as a rookie in 2022 and caught a touchdown.
Several of the positions of need that the Packers will have to tackle are interior defensive lineman, edge rusher, tight end, safety, and wide receiver.