In the Cardinals' press conference following the season, General Manager Steve Keim noted the benefits of having early picks in every draft round.
He also brought up that the Cards would have "anywhere from nine to 10 picks when you add in the compensatory (selections)."
Keim turned out to be close, but he undersold his situation.
The NFL announced its 2019 compensatory draft picks Friday, and the Cardinals were awarded four extra choices in April's draft – bringing the team's total picks up to 11. The Cardinals got an extra sixth-round pick and three seventh-round selections, including the final pick in the draft – the annual Mr. Irrelevant.
The Cardinals already held the top pick in each of the first six rounds, in addition to the sixth pick in the sixth round in a swap with Tampa Bay to allow Bruce Arians to coach the Bucs. In that swap, the Cardinals sent their original seventh-round pick – also first in the round – to Tampa Bay.
Compensatory picks are determined by a formula that accounts for free agents gained and lost the previous offseason, those players' contracts, and their playing time. The extra picks are added at the end of each round starting in the third round, with 32 total comp choices awarded.
The sixth-round comp pick the Cardinals were given is 207th overall. The seventh-round comp picks are No. 248, 249 and 254.
The Cardinals' draft choices in the overall order are picks 1, 33, 65, 103, 139, 174, 179, 207, 248, 249 and 254.
In the Cardinals' overall comp equation, the Cards only signed two offsetting free agents in offensive linemen Justin Pugh and Andre Smith. But they lost a number of qualifying free agents last offseason: wide receiver Jaron Brown, quarterback Drew Stanton, linebacker Kareem Martin, cornerback Tramon Williams and quarterback Blaine Gabbert.
The Cards are one of three teams to earn four extra picks. The New England Patriots and Washington Redskins were the others. The Bengals, Rams and Vikings were each awarded three extra picks.
