So much about draft-day success comes down to finding value. Brian Gutekunst has found a way of doing this by drafting prospects whose final college season was worse than the one prior.
Jordan Love is the best example. He threw 32 touchdowns to just six interceptions in his sophomore year at Utah State, but he then tossed 17 picks in his final season before heading to the NFL Draft. The Packers believed in the play he put on tape the year before, but his final season dropped his draft stock just enough. It's worked out pretty well.
The same could be true for sixth-round pick Domani Jackson, a prospect whose potential is "through the roof," but he is coming off a challenging final year at Alabama. But that adversity may help him at the pro level.
Don't just take my word for it. Former Packers Pro Bowler Ha Ha Clinton-Dix has seen it up close.
Ha Ha Clinton-Dix explains how Domani Jackson overcame adversity at Alabama
Clinton-Dix spent five years in Green Bay, reaching second-team All-Pro heights in 2016. Nowadays, he's back at Alabama, his alma mater, as the director of player development. He spoke with Bill Huber of Packers On SI in an interview that's well worth your time.
He has worked closely with Jackson, and one quote stood out.
"You got to look at the man in the mirror. I think (Jackson) did a good job of looking himself in the mirror and figuring out where he could get better as an individual, and that's being more detailed, being more intentional," Clinton-Dix told Huber.
"These are things he was saying to me, because I asked him what he needed to work on instead of me just blaming a bunch of sh**. I wanted to hear what he had to say about it. He pinpointed everything, and that's called 'adulting’' to me. That's called taking accountability."
Clinton-Dix was referring to the challenges Jackson faced in his final season at Alabama.
Rewind to the beginning of the 2025 season, and various mock drafts had him going in the first round. But after a rough start, Jackson lost his job in the starting lineup, and his draft stock plummeted. The Packers ultimately selected him in the sixth round at No. 201 overall.
It's a classic Gutekunst move. It doesn't always work, like when he selected Kalen King in Round 7 after he had also received first-round buzz before his final year in college, but it's a gamble worth taking.
Clinton-Dix served as a mentor to Jackson, and he believes the Packers' rookie showed the mental toughness to fight through the adversity before bouncing back late in the year. That will serve him well in the NFL.
In the interview with Huber, Clinton-Dix said that some players "kind of go into a hole" when the going gets tough, but Jackson "was never one of those players."
Clinton-Dix saw that up close, and it's a big reason why he has so much confidence in Jackson. If he can get back to the level that had him in early first-round predictions, the Packers will have gotten one of the steals of the draft.
And after spending time learning from Clinton-Dix, it's also fitting that he will follow his path from Bryant-Denny Stadium to Lambeau Field.
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