DJ Reader and Chidobe Awuzie were among the players Cincinnati lost in 2024.
As expected, the Cincinnati Bengals won’t get any extra picks for the 2025 NFL Draft, at least not from the NFL.
On Tuesday, the league announced compensatory picks for this year’s draft. The Bengals were among the teams who did not receive a pick.
The Baltimore Ravens, Miami Dolphins, and Dallas Cowboys each led the way with four extra selections.
Compensatory draft picks were first implemented by the NFL in 1994 and were intended to give extra help to those teams that got out-spent in free agency. Teams that lose more in free agency than they gain are awarded compensatory picks. No team can receive more than four compensatory picks per year.
The Bengals had an active 2024 free agency, including the outside additions of Sheldon Rankins, Geno Stone, Mike Gesicki, and Zack Moss when free agency first began.
Meanwhile, the Bengals lost DJ Reader, Chidobe Awuzie, and Jonah Williams to other teams in the opening waves of free agency. Some big losses, but not enough to get a compensatory pick after making the additions mentioned above.
The Bengals remain at six picks for this year’s draft after trading their seventh to the Chicago Bears in a midseason deal for Khalil Herbert, who is still a free agent.
NFL now has awarded its compensatory draft picks: pic.twitter.com/rStresHLeJ
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 11, 2025
