For the first time in a decade, the Green Bay Packers did not receive a compensatory draft pick.
The NFL released the compensatory draft pick allocation for the 2019 draft on Friday, and the Packers were not one of the 15 teams to receive a pick.
From Adam Schefter of ESPN:
The last time the Packers were not awarded a compensatory draft pick in a year was 2009.
The NFL hands out 32 compensatory picks every year based on results in unrestricted free agency the previous offseason.
First-year GM Brian Gutekunst was more active in free agency last March, signing tight end Jimmy Graham to a top-of-the-market deal and cornerback Tramon Williams to a deal worth almost $5 million per season. The Packers lost Morgan Burnett and Richard Rodgers in free agency, but the additions far outweighed the losses on the cancellation chart.
In past years, Ted Thompson’s reluctance to use unrestricted free agency created an annual source of draft pick capital through compensatory picks. In 2018, the Packers were awarded four picks.
Since 1994, the Packers have received 42 compensatory picks, trailing only the Baltimore Ravens.
Thompson used the extra picks to find quality players in the draft such as Mike Daniels, Josh Sitton and Blake Martinez, among others.
Despite the lack of extra compensatory picks, the Packers still have 10 selections in the 2019 draft, including two in the first round, two in the fourth round and two in the sixth round. Gutekunst added the extra picks through trades. He sent Brett Hundley to Seattle and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix to Washington, helping substitute for the missed compensatory picks.
