Bengals score a third-round compensatory draft pick following NFL correction

Big news for the Bengals entering the 2024 NFL Draft.

Justice is served.

The Cincinnati Bengals will get a third-round compensatory pick in the 2024 NFL Draft after the NFL changed its decision on Monday. They originally got two sixth-round draft picks, but one of those is now a third-round selection, the 97th overall pick. The sixth-rounder they kept is the 214th pick.

ESPN’s Dan Graziano broke the news first.

We explained the whole ordeal on Sunday (H/T/ to Nick Korte for all the hard work), but to sum it up, the NFL made a mistake in how it calculated the value of Cincinnati losing Jessie Bates to the Atlanta Falcons in the 2023 offseason. Not only was it a massive deal, but Bates was also an All-Pro last year.

This is a big deal, as a third-round compensatory pick is a top-100 selection, whereas the sixth-round pick Cincinnati was initially awarded wasn’t even in the top 200 picks.

Now, the Bengals will be armed with an extra top-100 pick entering what’s going to be a very important draft for the team’s Super Bowl window.

One final gift from Jessie Bates, and it sure helps take away some of the sting of losing him.

Who Dey!