There seems to be a certain amount slots aswell as carry weight.
Say your backpack can hold 10 items,even if those items only fill 75/100 capacity. You could drop something light and pick up something heavier and it might up to 85/100 but it still will only fit 10 items.
I'm not on the game right now and can't recall exactly how many slots my bag has so that is a loose example but I hope that kind of makes sense!