The 2026 NFL Draft will award compensatory picks to teams that lost top free agents from last year’s class. That includes the Philadelphia, who saw defensive tackle Milton Williams sign a four-year, $104 million contract with the New England Patriots.
How did the Eagles get a compensatory pick for Milton Williams?
The Eagles received a third-round pick for letting Williams walk. That is now the number 98 overall pick in the draft. It is the second-highest compensatory pick this year because his compensation was substantial among all the qualifying free agent signings
in 2025.
What did the Eagles do with the compensatory pick from Milton Williams?
The Eagles pick at selection 98 and we will update.
How was Milton Williams’ performance for the Eagles in 2025?
Williams went back to the Super Bowl for the second consecutive year of his career and the third time in four seasons. He had three sacks in the playoffs and 3.5 in the regular season, but the Pats ultimately fell short against Sam Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks.
Should the Eagles have re-signed Milton Williams?
Though Williams is one of the best defensive tackles in the NFL, the Eagles made the right call in allowing him to test the market and not keeping him. The Eagles have to save up to pay Jalen Carter down the line.
They already gave out a massive contract to Jordan Davis this offseason, worth $78 million over three years. The value that Davis’s contract brings is better than what Williams would have made, which still makes this the right call for Philadelphia.
What is a compensatory pick?
Compensatory picks are awarded to teams that suffer a net loss of qualifying free agents during the previous year’s free agency period. So 2026 NFL Draft compensatory picks are awarded due to free agents lost in 2025.
Then those player are ranked on the amount of salary, playing time, and a bunch of other criteria and slotted into the end of rounds three through seven.
