The Tampa Bay Buccaneers now have one more pick in the 2024 NFL Draft to bolster the roster as they seek a fourth straight NFC South title.
On Friday, the NFL announced that it had awarded a total of 34 compensatory picks to 14 teams based on net losses in free agency in 2023. One of those picks goes to the Buccaneers, who landed the final pick of the sixth round, number 220 overall. The 2024 draft now consists of 257 selections, seven of which belong to the Buccaneers. The entire draft order has now been finalized.
Tampa Bay was awarded a compensatory pick in this year's draft because its losses in unrestricted free agency last year outweighed its gains. Specifically, free agent departures by safety Mike Edwards, cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting and defensive lineman Rakeem Nunez-Roches were factored into the equation, while the only two qualifying additions were defensive lineman Greg Gaines and quarterback Baker Mayfield. Other factors were also involved as compensatory free agents are determined by a formula based on salary, playing time and postseason honors.
Each year, the compensatory system spits out 32 picks based on free agency losses, even if there are more than 32 qualifiers in the system. In addition, since 2020, teams can earn third-round compensatory picks if a minority member of their staff is hired by another team to be a head coach or primary football executive. The San Francisco 49ers earned such a pick when DeMeco Ryans was hired by the Houston Texans as their new head coach, and the Los Angeles Rams did as well thanks to the departure of Raheem Morris to be the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons.
Since the compensatory pick system began in 1994, the Buccaneers have received a total of 25 such selections. The Baltimore Ravens have received the most, with 56, while the Cleveland Browns have received the fewest, with 13.
(NOTE: This story was updated to reflect a change in the compensatory draft pick order announced by the league on Monday, March 11.)
The addition of the compensatory picks finalizes the draft order for 2024. The Buccaneers currently own the following seven selections:
Round 1, No. 26, 26th overall
Round 2, No. 25, 57th overall
Round 3, No. 26, 89th overall
Round 4, No. 25, 125th overall
Round 6, No. 25, 201st overall
Round 6, No. 45, 220th overall*
Round 7, No. 26, 246th overall
* compensatory selection
The Buccaneers do not own their 2024 fifth-round pick, as they traded it to the Philadelphia Eagles during the 2023 draft in order to select Nebraska wide receiver Trey Palmer in the sixth round.
