No Packers from 2015 draft class under contract for 2019

No Green Bay Packers from the 2015 draft class are under contract for the 2019 season.

You can’t fairly judge a draft class until four years later. With that in mind, it’s fair to say the Green Bay Packers‘ 2015 draft class was one of the worst under Ted Thompson. Just four years later, none of the players selected by the Packers remain under contract.

With Thompson’s strict draft-and-develop philosophy, the way to stay competitive in the NFC was to, of course, draft well.

Thompson took a few risks in the 2015 draft, and they backfired. After letting Tramon Williams and Davon House walk in free agency, Thompson used his opening two picks in attempt to fix the secondary with Damarious Randall and Quinten Rollins.

Let’s take a look back through the Packers’ 2015 draft class:

Round 1: Damarious Randall – One of Brian Gutekunst’s first moves as general manager was to trade Randall to the Cleveland Browns in return for quarterback DeShone Kizer. Randall made 10 interceptions in three seasons but wasn’t the answer at cornerback.

Round 2: Quinten Rollins – Rollins struggled to stay healthy and was cut prior to the start of the 2018 season. Rollins is currently a free agent.

Round 3: Ty Montgomery – Montgomery’s biggest impact came in 2016 when he transitioned from wide receiver to running back and averaged an impressive 5.9 yards per carry. But Montgomery couldn’t stay healthy and was eventually passed on the depth chart by Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams.

After Montgomery fumbled on a kickoff return to take away a chance of a game-winning drive led by Aaron Rodgers, and reportedly going against coaches’ instructions to take a knee, he was traded to the Baltimore Ravens just days later.

Round 4: Jake Ryan – Ryan started 27 games for the Packers but missed the entire 2018 season with a torn ACL. He is a free agent this offseason. If Ryan re-signs, he’ll be the only remaining player on the team from the 2015 class.

Round 5: Brett Hundley – The Packers traded up to get Hundley in the fifth round. He started nine games in 2017 while Aaron Rodgers was out with a broken collarbone. But Hundley threw just nine touchdown passes with 12 interceptions that season and was traded to the Seahawks last offseason.

Round 6: Aaron Ripkowski – Ripkowski replaced John Kuhn as the Packers fullback and rushed for 150 yards and two touchdowns in 2016. He was released prior to the start of the 2018 season and is currently a free agent.

Round 6: Christian Ringo – Ringo played in eight games in 2016 but was released before the start of the 2017 season. Ringo currently plays for the Cincinnati Bengals.

Round 6: Kennard Backman – Backman played just 11 snaps on offense and 37 on special teams in 2015, according to Pro Football Reference. He is a free agent.

If Ryan is re-signed this offseason, he’ll be the only player remaining in Green Bay from the 2015 draft class. But if Ryan signs with another team, the entire class will be gone just four years on.

At this stage you’d expect to be getting a few key contributions from the 2015 class. For a team that rarely used free agency, it had to hit on the draft.

From 2013 to 2015, Ted Thompson drafted 28 players. Only three — David Bakhtiari, Davante Adams and Corey Linsley — are still on the team. To be fair to Thompson, all three players are starters on offense. Bakhtiari is a three-time All-Pro, Adams a two-time Pro Bowler, and Linsley one of the best centers in the league and a Pro Bowl alternate this year.

But the rest of the players from the draft classes from 2013-2015 are no longer in Green Bay. It’s perhaps no surprise this team has failed to make the playoffs two years in a row.