As a result of the veterans they lost in free agency last spring, the Vikings have two compensatory picks on the way in this April's NFL draft.
The NFL announced on Friday the Vikings will be one of seven teams to receive at least two extra picks in this year's draft. The Vikings got a pair of sixth-round picks — Nos. 213 and 218 overall — as a result of losing free agents Adrian Peterson and Cordarrelle Patterson last spring.
The two compensatory picks are the Vikings' first since 2012, when they were given two fourth-round selections they used on Rhett Ellison and Greg Childs. The picks are just the 18th and 19th compensatory choices the Vikings have received since the NFL began awarding extra picks to teams who lost players in free agency in 1994.
Cincinnati, Green Bay, Dallas and Oakland each received four extra picks, while Arizona and Houston got three each.
With the two extra picks, the Vikings now have seven selections in this year's draft. Their fourth-round pick will go to the Miami Dolphins (by way of the Philadelphia Eagles) to complete last year's Sam Bradford trade, and the Vikings owe their seventh-round pick to the Seattle Seahawks after trading for cornerback Tramaine Brock before the start of the season.
