CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The NFL handed out compensatory draft picks Thursday as the result of free agency net losses from the 2022 league year.
The Browns did not receive any of those picks, but the team found out the second of the two special compensatory picks that were awarded last year when the Vikings hired Kwesi Adofo-Mensah as their general manager falls at No. 98 overall in the third round of this year’s draft.
Last year the team used the first of the special compensatory picks – the 35th pick in the third round, No. 99 overall – to draft receiver David Bell out of Purdue. As a rookie, Bell caught 24 passes for 214 yards last season.
The Browns, who employ one of the most diverse front office and coaching staffs in the league, received the picks under a 2020 amendment to the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement “to promote equal employment opportunities and an inclusive workforce within NFL clubs.”
The San Francisco 49ers were awarded three special compensatory picks – Nos. 99, 101 and 102 – this year under the program. The Arizona Cardinals – No. 96, Washington Commanders – No. 97, and Kansas City Chiefs – No. 100 also received extra selections.
The initiative “provides that the prior employer-club of a minority employee who has been hired by another club as its head coach or primary football executive [general manager] will receive compensation in the form of a special compensatory draft selection in the third round of each of the next two drafts, or in each of the next three drafts if two minority employees from the employer-club are hired for these positions by another club or clubs.”
Special compensatory selections are awarded in draft selection order after all other compensatory selections in round three.
A total of 37 compensatory picks were awarded using the NFL’s net loss free agent formula with the Rams and 49ers receiving four each.
Arizona and Dallas were awarded three each.
The Browns have a total of eight selections in the upcoming NFL Draft to be held in Kansas City, Missouri in April.