In 2024 free agency, the Detroit Lions saw both major losses and gains. With the loss of Will Harris to the New Orleans Saints this week, there have been doubts about compensatory draft picks for 2025.
Essentially, compensatory draft picks are awarded based on losses in the previous year’s free agency. They can be offset by what a team gained in free agency, and the league has layered in an element attached to losing a minority hire to a coaching or general manager position with another team to award compensatory picks. If/when defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn gets a head coaching job, or assistant general manager Ray Agnew gets a general manager job elsewhere, the Lions will receive compensatory picks for losing them.
The Lions last had compensatory draft picks in 2022, taking safety Kerby Joseph, tight end James Mitchell, and edge rusher James Houston. They were excluded from the formula in 2023 and this year. Losing Harris was unlikely to impact the Lions in the compensatory pick formula for 2025, but since he signed on May 1, the ship has sailed.
Lions not in line to receive any compensatory draft picks again in 2025
Over The Cap does an excellent job estimating compensatory draft picks, and NFL.com also published a piece outlining compensatory picks for 2025.
Here’s how the Lions fared using the Over The Cap chart.
Qualifying free agents lost: OG. Jonas Jackson, DB C. J Gardner-Johnson, WR Josh Reynolds
The qualifying free agents gained: EDGE Marcus Davenport, DT. DJ Reader, OG Kevin Zeitler, cornerback Amik Robertson
As seen, gaining four and losing three qualifying free agents means the Lions won’t get any compensatory picks in the 2025 draft. That’s the back-end cost of signing notable players. Getting three compensatory picks in 2022 was a direct reflection of not doing much in the first year of free agency under a new regime in 2021.
While it would be nice to have an extra draft pick or two, not having any in three straight rounds (barring the loss of Glenn and/or Agnew before next April) is as much a reflection of the Lions’ progress as anything else.
