The NFL awarded 32 compensatory draft picks to 15 teams on Friday, but the Steelers were shut out.
Cincinnati, Dallas, Green Bay and Oakland each were awarded four additional draft picks by the NFL, which uses a formula to weigh free agent losses vs. gains to decide who gets the additional picks in rounds 3 through 7 of the draft.
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. No club may receive more than four compensatory picks in any one year.
The Steelers had expected to receive at least one compensatory pick after losing starters Lawrence Timmons and Markus Wheaton in free agency last year to Miami and Chicago, respectively. Their only major signing was defensive lineman Tyson Alualu.
With that in mind, general manager Kevin Colbert was aggressive with his draft picks in training camp, making deals for Vance McDonald and J.J. Wilcox and sending Ross Cockrell to the Giants for a conditional seventh-round pick.
McDonald was acquired from San Francisco for a fourth-round pick, with Pittsburgh also getting the 49ers' fifth-round selection in return. Pittsburgh got Wilcox and a seventh-round pick in 2019 from Tampa Bay for a sixth-round pick in this year's draft.
Those moves -- and a trade with Cleveland last year that involved a sixth-round pick this year for Justin Gilbert -- leave the Steelers with six picks in this year's draft. Pittsburgh does not have a draft pick in the fourth or sixth rounds but has two in the fifth as a result of the McDonald trade..
The Steelers have made good use of compensatory draft picks in recent years, acquiring corner William Gay, linebacker Vince Williams and offensive linemen Kelvin Beachum and Willie Colon in that manner.