The most recent projections for the 2026 NFL draft's compensatory picks are in. The New Orleans Saints are expected to have one comp pick, per Over the Cap's Nick Korte's projections.
Compensatory picks are draft picks awarded to teams that lose more free agents than they gain. The comp pick a team can receive is determined by the size of the contract their free agent signs with another team and the performance he has in his first season with that new team. No comp pick can be higher than a third-rounder.
The player that the Saints lost in 2025 was cornerback Paulson Adebo, who signed a three-year $54 million deal with the New York Giants. In New York, he gathered 73 total tackles, eight passes defended, and one interception. All of that adds up to a projected fourth-round pick, the fifth day three selection for the Saints.
Saints have been money with their compensatory picks
This April will be the third year in a row that the Saints will have a compensatory pick and the eighth time they've gotten one since they were introduced in 1994. When looking back at those selections, multiple notable names pop up.
Trey Hendrickson, now a multi-time pro bowler, was selected back in 2017 with a comp pick. Hendrickson was a bit of a late bloomer. He's found his most consistent success with the Bengals, but his first breakout year came in 13.5 sacks in 2020. The next season he showed the ability to do it again elsewhere.
Even more notable is wide receiver Marcus Colston, who was selected back in 2006 with a comp pick. He turned out to be one of the best draft selections in team history, setting multiple team records. In his 10 NFL seasons, Colston gathered 711 receptions, 9,759 receiving yards, and 72 receiving touchdowns. All three of those marks were franchise records when he retired, and no one has even gotten close to catching him in the decade since.
On the more recent side of things, defensive end Fadil Diggs was last year's lone compensatory selection. Taken in the seventh round, he rarely saw the field in 2025. Maybe next year he'll have a bigger role in the defense.