The Houston Texans have been awarded three compensatory picks in the 2014 NFL Draft, the NFL announced today. The NFL Management Council determined the Texans will receive the 35th pick in the fourth round (135th overall), 35th pick in the sixth round (211th overall) and the 41st pick in the seventh round (256th overall and final pick of the draft).

Below is the entire release from the NFL detailing the compensatory picks awarded in 2014:

NFL ANNOUNCES 32 COMPENSATORY DRAFT CHOICES TO 13 CLUBS

A total of 32 compensatory choices in the 2014 NFL Draft have been awarded to 13 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 announced today will supplement the 224 choices in the seven rounds of the 2014 NFL Draft (May 8-10), which will kick off in primetime for the fifth consecutive year.

The first round will be held on Thursday, May 8 and begin at 8:00 PM ET.  The second and third rounds are set for Friday, May 9 at 7:00 PM ET followed by rounds 4-7 on Saturday, May 10 at 12:00 PM ET.

This year, the compensatory picks will be positioned within the third through seventh rounds based on the value of the compensatory free agents lost.

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. 

The NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement limits the number of compensatory picks to the number of clubs then in the league (32).  This year, three clubs – Chicago, Atlanta and Cincinnati – qualified for compensatory picks under the net loss formula but will not receive those picks because they ranked 33rd, 34th and 35th, respectively, among all compensatory picks.  Atlanta and Cincinnati will receive picks for other compensatory free agents lost who ranked within the top 32 compensatory picks.

A fourth club, Oakland, did not suffer a net loss of compensatory free agents last year but qualified for a compensatory pick because the compensatory free agents lost by the club were ranked higher than the ones they signed (by a specified points differential based upon salary and playing time). Because such picks are awarded after all compensatory picks at the end of the seventh round have been made, Oakland's pick effectively ranked 36th among all compensatory picks, so the club will not receive a selection.

The following 2014 compensatory draft picks have been determined by the NFL Management Council:

Following are the compensatory free agents lost and signed last year by the clubs that will receive compensatory picks in the 2014 NFL Draft:

TOTAL 2014 NFL COMPENSATORY DRAFT PICKS

NFL CLUB SUMMARY OF COMPENSATORY DRAFT PICKS, 1994-2014*

• 1994 was the first year that compensatory draft choices were awarded.

** St. Louis picks include those awarded to Los Angeles Rams.

* Tennessee picks include those awarded to Houston Oilers.

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