Arizona Cardinals projected to have zero 2020 compensatory picks

The Arizona Cardinals aren’t expected to have any extra picks for the 2020 NFL Draft.

In a recent article by NFL’s Lance Zierlein, the projected amount of compensatory picks for each team was estimated. The Arizona Cardinals are one of the plenty of teams not to receive bonus picks in 2020.

Every year there are 32 compensatory picks divvied up amongst the league’s teams. But, it’s not equal. Teams are given these picks (between rounds three and seven) based off of their activity during the free-agency period. If the team loses valuable players to expensive contracts they can gain a pick, but they can also lose it by adding other prestigious or highly paid players.

Note; released players don’t have an impact on this formula on both ends. The free agency period ended May 8th, meaning teams will be more active in free agency as additions don’t count against the calculation for picks.

Though the Cardinals lost some talent (Markus Golden, Olsen Pierre, Deone Bucannon), the contracts and prestige of the players didn’t out-weigh their additions. The Cardinals were one of the most active teams during the free agency period too, which further continues their reasoning for not possessing extra picks in 2020.

The Cardinals weren’t expected to add any compensatory picks, and Zierlein reaffirmed that notion. Although the official compensatory picks don’t come out until after the end of the 2019 season, don’t expect to see any surprise draft pick additions. However, this may not be a bad thing, as the Cardinals ultimately added starters across the board during this year’s free agency.