Packers: Re-grading the 2013 draft class eight years on
The Green Bay Packers had 11 draft picks in 2013. They were aiming to return to the Super Bowl after winning a championship only a few years before.
The Packers were coming off an 11-5 season in 2012 but were dominated by Colin Kaepernick and the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round.
Green Bay entered the draft with needs at linebacker, defensive line, and running back, among others.
Packers 2013 draft class
- Round 1 (26): Datone Jones, DE
- Round 2 (61): Eddie Lacy, RB
- Round 4 (109): David Bakhtiari, T
- Round 4 (122): JC Tretter, T
- Round 4 (125): Johnathan Franklin, RB
- Round 5 (159): Micah Hyde, DB
- Round 5 (167): Josh Boyd, DE
- Round 6 (193): Nate Palmer, LB
- Round 7 (216): Charles Johnson, WR
- Round 7 (224): Kevin Dorsey, WR
- Round 7 (232): Sam Barrington, LB
Final grade: A
If you can find a few starters in a draft class, it should be considered a success. General manager Ted Thompson achieved more than that in 2013.
While first-round pick Datone Jones didn’t live up to expectations in Green Bay, Thompson hit a home run in this draft class.
Eddie Lacy put together two incredible seasons with the Packers, rushing for over 1,000 yards in his first two years. He was named the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2013 and was also a Pro Bowler and second-team All-Pro.
Fourth-round pick David Bakhtiari has become one of the best tackles in recent memory. He’s still the starter in Green Bay and has been named an All-Pro five times and Pro Bowler three times. Bakhtiari is a future Hall-of-Famer.
The Packers were lucky to have two great centers with JC Tretter and Corey Linsley. Tretter eventually moved onto the Cleveland Browns, where he has started 64 games. Just this past season, Tretter ranked third in ESPN’s pass block win rate metric among centers.
Jonathan Franklin’s career was cut short due to injury but he could’ve been a star in Green Bay’s offense. When injuries hit the Packers at running back, Franklin stepped up with a 103-yard, one-touchdown performance against the Cincinnati Bengals.
In the fifth round, the Packers landed another future All-Pro in Micah Hyde. Not re-signing Hyde proved to be a mistake, as he went onto become a second-team All-Pro and Pro Bowler in 2017 with the Buffalo Bills.
Green Bay didn’t re-sign Tretter or Hyde beyond their rookie contracts, but that doesn’t take away from how talented this draft class proved to be.