On Monday, the NFL announced that the 2026 NFL Draft would have an additional 33 compensatory picks. The Detroit Lions currently hold just one of those 33—a pick at the very end of the fifth round, Pick 181 in the entire draft.
Compensatory picks are awarded to teams based on the previous year’s free agent activity. In very basic terms, the teams that lose more free agent talent than they add are awarded extra compensatory picks. When it comes to the Lions’ 2025 free agency, they lost guard Kevin Zeitler, cornerback Carlton Davis, and safety Ifeatu Melifonwu. They added defensive tackle Roy Lopez and cornerback D.J. Reed. The NFL has a complicated formula that takes into account contract values and playing time (among other factors) and turns that into tiered free agency rankings that result in compensatory picks.
The Lions were previously awarded a third-round compensatory pick for the 2026 NFL Draft because of the Rooney Rule. That awarded the Lions third-round compensatory picks in back-to-back drafts after Aaron Glenn, formerly the Lions’ defensive coordinator, was hired as the New York Jets head coach last year. However, the Lions traded that third-round pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars during last year’s draft as part of the package they sent to Jacksonville in order to draft receiver Isaac TeSlaa in the third round.
Detroit is now expected to have nine picks in the 2026 NFL Draft:
- First round
- Second round
- Fourth round
- Fourth round (from Houston)
- Fifth round
- Fifth round (compensatory)
- Sixth round (from Jaguars)
- Sixth round (from Jaguars via Seahawks)
- Seventh round (from Browns)
The full 2026 NFL Draft order is expected to be announced soon.
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