Ted Thompson: His last five Green Bay Packers drafts are defensive misery
Packers 2015 defensive picks
With defense the point of focus in the 2015 draft, Thompson used his first two picks on unknowns: defensive backs Damarious Randall and Quinten Rollins.
Though both players had promising and productive rookie seasons, they hit the wall in 2016 after the pressure for them to perform at an even high level increased when CB Sam Shield went down with a concussion and never returned.
Randall was continuously beat by wide receivers who sometimes made him look silly. Sometimes Randall looked completely lost.
Both Randall and Rollins suffered injuries throughout the season and were probably playing when they shouldn’t have been. But we all know those are excuses. This is the NFL and if you are a first and second round draft pick you are expected to play at that high level.
To date, Rollins and Randall have not.
Thompson also drafted Jake Ryan, a fourth round pick out of Michigan.
Ryan has showed promise, but like Randall and Rollins, he has struggled in various areas of the linebackers’ game.
Christian Ringo, a defensive lineman out of Louisiana-Lafayette, has been a project who has shown some promise in preseason, but hasn’t made any waves in the regular season. The jury is still out on this guy who might turn promise into production, if given a chance.
Packers 2016 defensive draft
The defensive rookies who made the 2016 roster and got playing time were led by Kenny Clark, a defensive tackle out of UCLA and Blake Martinez, a linebacker out of Stanford.
In addition, Thompson drafted Kyler Fackrell, a linebacker out of Utah State and Dean Lowry, a defensive end out of Northwestern.
All of these rookies saw the field in 2016 and all of them made a splash here and there.
Because of that, the jury is out on these guys as we wait to see how they respond in their second season.
The following are the Packers draft picks, 2012-16 …
2012
April 26-28, 2012; Drafted 28th
- 1. NICK PERRY, LB, Southern California, 28
- 2a. JEREL WORTHY, DE, Michigan State, 51
(from Philadelphia Eagles in draft-day trade) - 2. (to Philadelphia Eagles in draft-day trade), 59
- 2b. CASEY HAYWARD, CB, Vanderbilt, 62
(from New England Patriots in draft-day trade) - 3. (to New England Patriots in draft-day trade), 90
- 4. (to Philadelphia Eagles in draft-day trade), 123
- 4a. MIKE DANIELS, DT, Iowa, 132
(free agency compensatory pick) - 4b. JERRON McMILLIAN, S, Maine, 133
(free agency compensatory pick) - 5. TERRELL MANNING, LB, North Carolina State, 163
(originally sent to New England Patriots in draft-day trade)
(reacquired through New England in draft-day trade) - 6. (to New England Patriots in draft-day trade), 197
- 7. (to New England Patriots in draft-day trade), 224
(pick originally obtained as conditional choice from N.Y. Jets for G Caleb Schlauderaff) - 7. (to New England Patriots in draft-day trade), 235
- 7a. ANDREW DATKO, T, Florida State, 241
(free agency compensatory pick) - 7b. B.J. COLEMAN, QB, Tennessee-Chattanooga, 243
(free agency compensatory pick)
2013
April 25-27, 2013; Drafted alternately 26th-25th
- 1. DATONE JONES, DE, UCLA, 26
- 2. (to San Francisco 49ers in draft-day trade), 55
- 2. EDDIE LACY, RB, Alabama, 61
(from San Francisco 49ers in draft-day trade) - 3. (to San Francisco 49ers in draft-day trade), 88
- 3. (to Miami Dolphins in draft-day trade), 93
(pick originally obtained from San Francisco 49ers in draft-day trade) - 4a. DAVID BAKHTIARI, T, Colorado, 109
(from Miami Dolphins in draft-day trade) - 4b. JC TRETTER, T, Cornell, 122
- 4c. JOHNATHAN FRANKLIN, RB, UCLA, 125
(from Denver Broncos in draft-day trade) - 5. (to Denver Broncos in draft-day trade), 146
(pick originally obtained from Miami Dolphins in draft-day trade) - 5a. MICAH HYDE, CB, Iowa, 159
- 5b. JOSH BOYD, DE, Mississippi State, 167
(free agency compensatory pick) - 6. (to Denver Broncos in draft-day trade), 173
(pick originally obtained from San Francisco 49ers in draft-day trade) - 6. NATE PALMER, LB, Illinois State, 193
- 7a. CHARLES JOHNSON, WR, Grand Valley State, 216
(from San Francisco 49ers in draft-day trade) - 7b. KEVIN DORSEY, WR, Maryland, 224
(from Miami Dolphins in draft-day trade) - 7c. SAM BARRINGTON, LB, South Florida, 232
2014
May 8-10, 2014; Drafted 21st
- 1. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, S, Alabama, 21
- 2. Davante Adams, WR, Fresno State, 53
- 3a. Khyri Thornton, DE, Southern Mississippi, 85
- 3b. Richard Rodgers, TE, California, 98
(free agency compensatory pick)
- 4. Carl Bradford, LB, Arizona State, 121
- 5a. Corey Linsley, C, Ohio State, 161
- 5b. Jared Abbrederis, WR, Wisconsin, 176
(free agency compensatory pick) - 6. Demetri Goodson, CB, Baylor, 197
- 7. Jeff Janis, WR, Saginaw Valley State, 236
2015
April 30 – May 2, 2015; Drafted 30th
- 1. Damarious Randall, CB, Arizona State, 30
- 2. Quinten Rollins, CB, Miami (Ohio), 62
- 3. Ty Montgomery, WR, Stanford, 94
- 4. Jake Ryan, LB, Michigan, 129
- 5a. Brett Hundley, QB, UCLA, 147
(from New England Patriots in draft-day trade) - 5. (to New England Patriots in draft-day trade), 166
- 6a. Aaron Ripkowski, FB, Oklahoma, 206
- 6b. Christian Ringo, DL, Louisiana-Lafayette, 210
(free agency compensatory pick) - 6c. Kennard Backman, TE, Alabama-Birmingham, 213
(free agency compensatory pick) - 7. (to New England Patriots in draft-day trade), 247
2016
April 28-30, 2016; Drafted 27th
- 1. Kenny Clark, DT, UCLA, 27
- 2. Jason Spriggs, T, Indiana, 48
(from Indiananapolis Colts in draft-day trade) - 2. (to Indianapolis Colts in draft-day trade), 57
- 3. Kyler Fackrell, LB, Utah State, 88
- 4. (to Indianapolis Colts in draft-day trade), 125
- 4a. Blake Martinez, LB, Stanford, 131
(free agency compensatory pick) - 4b. Dean Lowry, DE, Northwestern, 137
(free agency compensatory pick) - 5. Trevor Davis, WR, California, 163
- 6. Kyle Murphy, T, Stanford, 200
- 7. (to Indianapolis Colts in draft-day trade), 248