2017 Compensatory Picks: Packers receive one 5th-round draft pick

The NFL awarded its compensatory draft selections a bit early this year, and we now know the Packers will have an additional 5th rounder, specifically the 39th pick of the 5th round, which is the 184th overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.

Few enjoy a good compensatory pick like Ted Thompson, and this will be the Packers’ 38th compensatory pick since the NFL started doling them out in 1994, second only to the Ravens. The loss of Casey Hayward to the San Diego Chargers last season in free agency earned this pick for Green Bay.

The team did not receive a pick for Scott Tolzien, who signed a three-year contract with the Indianapolis Colts. His contract likely fell just below the cutoff for compensatory picks, as there are only 32 awarded in each draft.

Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, and Kansas City led the way this year with 4 picks each, the maximum awarded to one team.

The Packers have made good use of their compensatory picks in the past. Last year they used two 4th-round selections on linebacker Blake Martinez and defensive end Dean Lowry; perhaps most famously, Mike Daniels was a 4th-round compensatory pick in 2012. This may be just a 5th-rounder, but compensatory picks count the same as all others. Especially as this season, for the first time, they can be traded.