How many compensatory picks will 49ers have in 2025 NFL Draft
By Peter Panacy
While the NFL won't release the official list of compensatory picks for the 2025 NFL Draft until spring of next year, it is possible to predict what the 49ers will receive.
Early in the 2024 offseason, a number of team owners apparently lodged complaints about the number of compensatory picks the San Francisco 49ers were able to generate in recent NFL Draft classes.
Much of this stemmed from the Niners' success with the Rooney Rule, a rule implemented to reward teams for developing minority assistants who'd go on to head-coaching or general manager gigs elsewhere within the league.
Since general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan were hired back in 2017, they've watched minority assistants -- Robert Saleh, Mike McDaniel, DeMeco Ryans, Martin Mayhew and Ran Carthon -- take coaching or executive jobs after spending the qualifying amount of time with San Francisco, ultimately netting the 49ers additional draft compensation.
The other part of the comp-pick formula is having a net loss of qualifying free agents any given offseason.
The Rooney Rule rewards third-round comp picks, but free-agent losses translate into a complex formula that includes playing time, player awards and contract numbers. The NFL doesn't release this formula, but it's somewhat predictable, as Over the Cap describes here.
In the 2024 draft, the Niners had been awarded with four compensatory selections, three of which were used for draft-day trades by Lynch.
So, how many comp picks will San Francisco receive in the 2025 NFL Draft?
49ers predicted to have 3 compensatory picks in the 2025 NFL Draft
The NFL won't reveal the actual number of comp picks per team in the 2025 draft until early spring of next year, but OTC's Jason Fitzgerald put together an excellent predictor spreadsheet that lists out the most probable returns that teams like the 49ers will have.
His prediction? Three.
Round | Departure |
|---|---|
3 | DeMeco Ryans/Ran Carthon |
5 | QB Sam Darnold (Vikings) |
7 | TE Charlie Woerner (Falcons) |
The departure of Ryans and Carthon fall into the Rooney Rule, while Darnold and Woerner's departure met the qualifiers of a net loss of free agents.
The Niners' loss of edge Chase Young to the New Orleans Saints was offset by the free-agent pickup of edge Leonard Floyd in the formula, while the pickups of cornerback Isaac Yiadom and defensive linemen Yetur Gross-Matos and Jordan Elliott offset the losses of D-linemen Javon Kinlaw, Sebastian Joseph-Day and Clelin Ferrell.
Defensive tackle Arik Armstead doesn't count in the equation because San Francisco released him.
The 2025 crop of compensatory picks will be officially announced early in the next NFL calendar year.
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