The NFL did in fact initially screw the Cincinnati Bengals.
After bestowing them two sixth-round picks in this year's NFL Draft, the NFL has announced an update and has awarded the Bengals a third-round pick and a sixth-round pick. The third-rounder is the 97th overall pick.
Why the Bengals deserved a third-round compensatory pick
Last offseason, the Bengals watched Jessie Bates III leave in free agency for a four-year, $64.020 million deal, an average annual value of just over $16 million. The Bengals followed that by signing Orlando Brown Jr. for nearly the same exact AAV, but slightly larger.
Because Bates played a higher percentage of snaps and was a Pro Bowl selection, he ended up higher in the compensatory pick formula compared to Brown, according to compensatory pick expert Nick Korte of Over The Cap.
Korte believed that Bates should've been considered above third-round cutoff, which would give the Bengals a third-round comp pick.
Korte believed the NFL erred in setting the cutoff, which initially cost the Bengals a top-100 selection in this year's NFL Draft. This correction confirms Korte's analysis, and the Bengals now have four picks inside the first three rounds.
Updated look at the Bengals' 2024 NFL Draft selections
- Round 1: 18th overall
- Round 2: 49th overall
- Round 3: 80th overall
- Round 3: 97th overall*
- Round 4: 115th overall
- Round 5: 147th overall
- Round 6: 195th overall
- Round 6: 214th overall*
- Round 7: 234th overall
*Compensatory pick
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