The Vikings learned today that they will receive compensatory picks in the sixth and seventh rounds of the NFL draft this April. The picks were awarded to the Vikings as compensation for losing running back Chester Taylor to Chicago and offensive lineman Artis Hicks to Washington in free agency last spring.

The sixth-round pick will be the 200th selection overall and the seventh-rounder will be the 235th selection. The compensatory picks can't be traded and give the Vikings nine picks in the April 28-30 draft. Minnesota will draft 12th overall and also has picks in the second and fourth rounds and two each in the fifth, sixth and seventh rounds.

The Vikings were one of seven teams to get two compensatory picks. Carolina received three.

A total of 32 compensatory choices in the 2011 NFL Draft have been awarded to 23 teams, the NFL announced today. Under the rules for compensatory draft selections, a team losing more or better compensatory free agents than it acquires in the previous year is eligible to receive compensatory draft picks. The number of picks a team receives equals the net loss of compensatory free agents up to a maximum of four. The 32 compensatory choices will supplement the 221 choices in the seven rounds of the draft. The compensatory picks will be in the third through seventh rounds based on the value of the compensatory free agents lost. According to the NFL, compensatory free agents are determined by a formula based on salary, playing time and postseason honors. The formula was developed by the NFL Management Council. Not every free agent lost or signed by a club is covered by this formula. Here is more from the league: Three clubs this year (Oakland, Seattle and New Orleans) will each receive a compensatory pick even though they did not suffer a net loss of compensatory free agents last year. Under the formula, the compensatory free agents lost by these clubs were ranked higher than the ones they signed (by a specified point differential based upon salary and performance). Twenty-one compensatory picks were awarded to clubs based upon the compensatory pick formula. By rule, 11 additional choices were awarded at the end of the seventh round to bring the total number of compensatory selections to 32, equaling the number of NFL clubs. The 11 additional picks were awarded to Carolina, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Denver, Cleveland, Arizona, San Francisco, Tennessee, Dallas, Washington and Houston based upon the 2011 draft selection order.