As the Broncos expected, they received four compensatory picks in the upcoming draft.
The NFL announced the compensatory selections Monday evening, with the Broncos receiving one fourth-round choice (No. 133 overall), one sixth-round pick (No. 208 overall) and two seventh-round slots (Nos. 250 and 251 overall).
NOTE: Because of a database error, the league revised the Broncos' sixth-round pick to become a seventh-rounder, so the Broncos' three seventh-round compensatory selections are at Nos. 250, 251 and 252.
"We've got to make them count," Executive Vice President/General Manager John Elway said.
The Broncos, Seattle Seahawks and Kansas City Chiefs lead the league with four compensatory picks apiece. The traditional compensatory kingpins, the Baltimore Ravens, were awarded three extra picks this year.
Prior to Monday, Denver had not been awarded a compensatory pick since the 2006 draft, which the team used to select wide receiver/kickoff returner Domenik Hixon.
With the extra four selections, the Broncos have 10 picks in the 2015 NFL Draft, and at least one in each round. The Broncos traded away their fourth-round and seventh-round picks last year, but had two fifth-round choices and one each in the first, second, third and sixth rounds.
The compensatory picks cannot be traded.
The league determines compensatory picks based on a formula that calculates the net losses of each team in the previous year's unrestricted free-agency period, with salary, playing time and performance used to determine the value.
Last year, the Broncos signed three unrestricted free agents: wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, cornerback Aqib Talib and safety T.J. Ward. (Defensive end DeMarcus Ware and center Will Montgomery were cut by their previous teams, making them street free agents who are not incorporated into the calculation.)
However, the Broncos lost nine UFAs: defensive end Robert Ayers, guard Zane Beadles, wide receiver Eric Decker, defensive end Jeremy Mincey, running back Knowshon Moreno, defensive end Shaun Phillips, cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, linebacker Wesley Woodyard and safety Mike Adams. As a post-June 1 signing by the Indianapolis Colts Adams did not factor into the calculation.
Denver had a supplemental compensatory pick in 2011 (defensive end Jeremy Beal); the team received that pick because there weren't enough normal compensatory picks to get to 32 for the entire draft.
