The Denver Broncos were awarded four compensatory picks for the 2015 NFL Draft at the annual NFL owner’s meetings in Arizona, according to team spokesman Patrick Smythe.
Broncos' four compensatory picks in 2015 NFL Draft: Rd 4-133, Rd 6-208, Rd 7-250, Rd 7-251.
— Patrick Smyth (@psmyth12) March 24, 2015
John Elway has previously stated this offseason that he felt the team would receive four according to their version of the NFL’s complicated calculation that divvy’s up the compensatory picks every year.
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The Broncos were expected to receive four picks based on calculations done by Over The Cap, which have generally been pretty spot on in recent years. The formula basically comes down to free agents lost and gained via unrestricted free agency, and the price tag that comes along with each player.
For instance, the Broncos lost both Zane Beadles and Eric Decker last year, along with Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who all commanded high salaries on the open market. However, their compensatory pick formula might be brought down a bit by the fact that the Broncos also signed Aqib Talib and T.J. Ward to bigger contracts.
Free agents like DeMarcus Ware don’t count against the Broncos when it comes to compensatory picks, because Ware was released outright by the Cowboys. The formula only applies to unrestricted free agents.
The Broncos are set to receive a larger number than most teams because they lost a ton of players last year in free agency. We’ve already mentioned Beadles, Rodgers-Cromartie, and Decker, but the Broncos also lost Knowshon Moreno, Robert Ayers, Mike Adams, Shaun Phillips, Jeremy Mincey, and Wesley Woodyard.
With the way they approached free agency, it’s clear the Broncos were expecting this haul of compensatory picks. John Elway has been very careful about free agent signings this offseason as well, only adding two unrestricted free agents in 2015 with Owen Daniels and Darian Stewart coming aboard. Other free agents they’ve signed — Shelley Smith, Vance Walker, Reggie Walker — were cut by their previous teams.
The Broncos have also signed a few of their own free agents back to the team like Steven Johnson, Aaron Brewer, and Virgil Green, but those players do not factor into this year’s compensatory draft selection formula.
With the compensatory selections awarded, the Broncos’ official draft order will be as follows:
1st round: 28th overall
2nd round: 59th overall
3rd round: 92nd overall
4th round (comp pick): 133rd overall
5th round (from Bears): 143rd overall
5th round: 164th overall
6th round: 202nd overall
6th round (comp pick): 208th overall
7th round (comp pick): 250th overall
7th round (comp pick): 251st overall