Bears not projected to earn 2024 comp pick, per NFL.com originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

It’s never too early to start looking ahead to the 2024 NFL draft. Last week, NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein took a stab at trying to predict which teams will earn compensatory picks next season, and how many picks each team will get.

Unfortunately for Bears fans hoping that Ryan Poles will get some extra draft capital to work with, Zierlein doesn’t think the Bears will end up with any extra selections.

Comp picks are extra draft selections awarded by the NFL to various teams. Those picks fall at the ends of rounds, starting in round three and going all the way through round seven.

There are several ways a team can earn a comp pick. First, if a team is determined to have lost more value in free agency than they gained, they’ll be awarded a comp pick. The NFL uses a formula to determine the value of free agents lost and free agents gained for each team over the offseason. That formula includes a player’s average salary per year, their snap count and any postseason awards they have earned.

If a team has a minority coach or front office member hired away by another team to take on a head coach or GM job, they will receive a third-round pick for two consecutive seasons. If a teams has both a coach and an executive hired away, then they get a third-round pick for three straight years.

As things stand now, OverTheCap has two compensatory losses working in favor of the Bears, but six signings working against them. David Montgomery’s deal with the Lions and Riley Reiff’s deal with the Patriots each carried a sixth-round comp pick value, per OTC’s projections. Meanwhile Tremaine Edmunds carries a third-round value, Nate Davis has fourth-round value, T.J. Edwards and DeMarcus Walker are each slotted with sixth-round value, and Andrew Billings and  Robert Tonyan have seventh-round value.

It’s worth noting the Bears were not projected to earn comp pick in 2023, yet the league awarded them the No. 258 pick in the draft, which was the second-to-last selection. Poles used the pick to acquire safety Kendall Williamson.

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