Comp Picks Expand Bengals’ Draft Day Trade Options

Yesterday’s addition of four compensatory picks to the Bengals’ draft day arsenal has fans buzzing over the trade possibilities the extra picks create. Though comp picks themselves can’t be traded, their presence lessens the blow from dealing the team’s “normal” selections. Here’s the value of Cincinnati’s picks under the NFL Draft trade value chart:

06: 1,600
38: 520
70: 240
98: comp pick
106: 82
142: 35
179: 20.8
209: comp pick
215: 6.4
249: comp pick
252: comp pick

(Note: regular pick numbers have been adjusted to account for comp selections. Hat tip to espn.com’s Mike Sando.)

The third-round comp gives Cincinnati an early jump on the fourth round, making the Bengals’ own fourth-rounder, No. 106, an attractive trade option. Added to the second-round pick, its 82-point value is enough to move back into the first ahead of Pittsburgh (assuming the Cardinals were so obliging). There’s no shortage of mocks that have top center Alex Mack ticketed to the Steelers at the bottom of round one, and if that looks like it’s playing out of draft day, the Bengals could leapfrog their division rival. They may also be looking to move up to catch a falling offensive tackle should they end up going in a different direction with the sixth overall pick.

The Bengals could also package their third and fourth round picks to jump back into the latter half of the second round. Combining the fourth- and fifth-round picks could move them just back into the third, but moving up 10 spots at that point gets them barely ahead of their own third-round comp pick.

The sixth round pick, No. 179, is enough to move them up two spots in the second or four in the third, giving the team some options if a coveted player is slipping. The seventh could bump them up one spot in the third.

Some might dismiss the two compensatory seventh-round picks as junk, but I always look at those as an opportunity for the team to get a jump on the undrafted college free agent crop. Every year, guys who were expected to go drop out of the draft because of an injury or character question or other issue. Example in recent years include Eric Henderson and Ben Wilkerson. The Bengals signed both in the days following the draft, but had to pony up small signing bonuses to lure them from other teams. With the late comps, they have a chance to skim any potential cream off the college free agent crop before most other teams get a shot.