Vikings’ Comp Pick Situation Just Got Even More Intriguing
Compensatory picks are a fascinating element of the offseason circus, and the Vikings have made sure to use them to their advantage, gaining an additional third-round pick for Kirk Cousins’ departure in April’s draft.
Vikings’ Comp Pick Situation Just Got Even More Intriguing
General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah emphasized their importance last week. “We’re looking at all our options. There’s a lot of good players out there still. We’ve had the dynamic where we’re trying to improve the team, but be mindful of our compensatory pick situation and different things like that. We’re really just trying to be mindful of that, and the right way to, you know, set us up to succeed, but also be mindful of all the different factors we have.”
This year, the organization is in line to generate a pair of compensatory picks: A third-rounder for Sam Darnold’s deal with the Seahawks and a fifth-rounder for Cam Robinson joining the Texans. That’s how Over The Cap is breaking it down.
However, the franchise thinks a third comp pick could be on the way in the 2026 offseason.
If you’re not familiar with the system, here’s a quick explanation. Each team loses and gains free agents every offseason, and to compensate teams who lose more free agents than they are signing, the NFL has implemented compensatory picks. Each team can get a maximum of four per year, one for each qualifying player they lose more than they acquire.
Released players like Jonathan Allen or Javon Hargrave don’t count, which is why the Vikings have focused on that market. And then there’s a cutoff, a minimum salary a player must earn to qualify. That’s where the Vikings think they could sneak a third one in, while OTC is more skeptical.
At the annual league meeting, Kevin O’Connell said, “When you look at it, we’re inside of a month away from the draft and I know how sacred people treat third and fourth-round picks. The idea of creating one of those from Sam Darnold or Daniel Jones or Cam Robinson, players that you’re not going to have back that you poured into, it really is something you have to take a mindset with to try to maximize, and we’ve tried to do that.
“That’s where I think Kwesi deserves so much credit for his staff and him working with us as coaches to really identify ways of doing the things that we felt were mandates to improve our team throughout the offseason, but doing it in a way where we can still be plus-two, or potentially three even, high-level comp picks.”
Special teams ace and depth wideout Trent Sherfield has been identified as the potential game-changer. He signed a two-year deal with the Broncos, and his annual salary of $3 million is right around the cutoff. But he has some incentives that can unlock even more cash.
Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling noted on social media, “Sherfield’s incentives are quite reachable in 2025. He gets $500K for 40% of the Broncos’ snaps, and another $500K for 30 catches. Essentially, if he becomes WR3, he could earn another $1 million, which would qualify this year.”
On the downside, Sherfield has reached 30 catches once in his seven-year career, in 2022 with the Dolphins. He has played at least 40% of the offensive snaps twice, in 2018 and in 2022.
Nick Korte, known as the man to ask when questions about comp picks emerge, chimed in, “If Trent Sherfield did qualify as a compensatory free agent, however, all that would happen is moving a 7th round 2026 compensatory pick from the Broncos to the Vikings. The signings of Will Fries, Ryan Kelly, & Isaiah Rodgers will cancel out higher picks.”
If they don’t sign another compensatory free agent until Monday after the draft (Joe Flacco or Asante Samuel Jr., for example), the expectations should be for two compensatory picks to land in the Twin Cities, including a valuable third-rounder, with upside to notch an additional low-end pick.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.
Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt