Breaking Down the Packers' Recent NFL Draft Successes and Failures

There is absolutely no doubt that the Green Bay Packers, under the leadership of general manager Ted Thompson, are a draft-and-develop team.

In fact, on the current Packers roster, 38 players were drafted by Thompson.

Drafting is what Thompson and his scouting staff do best. They go out and find talent in the college ranks with the ability and athleticism to help the Packers in the schemes that they run on offense and defense.

Now, Thompson does utilize free agency at times, but that is usually done with "street" free agents or cheaper talent on the free-agent market.

Thompson will also strike when a team releases a talented veteran from his contract. That is how Thompson signed both Charles Woodson and Julius Peppers. Both of those signings have paid off handsomely for the Packers.

But all in all, it's the draft that has built the Green Bay organization since Thompson was hired to run the front office in 2005.

Thompson started out with a bang in his first draft with the Packers, as his very first draft choice was quarterback Aaron Rodgers in the 2005 NFL draft. Thompson followed up that selection by picking safety Nick Collins.

For this story, I'm going to focus on the last three drafts under Thompson and look at his successes and his failures during that period.

It's safe to say that the successes have far outweighed the failures.

2014 Draft

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The 2014 NFL draft was a huge success for Thompson and the Packers. In fact, this may end up as one of Thompson's best draft classes ever.

Two of the Packers' selections, safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and center Corey Linsley, made the PFWA All-Rookie Team in 2014.

Clinton-Dix had a solid season as a rookie at safety, and his compatible play allowed safety Morgan Burnett to have maybe his finest year ever as a Packer. The first-round selection played in all 16 games and started 10 of them.

Overall, Clinton-Dix had 93 combined tackles, one sack, six passes defensed and one interception. The former Alabama star also had two picks in the NFC Championship Game.

Clinton-Dix needs to improve his tackling technique, but all in all, he was very consistent—especially compared to the safety play opposite Burnett during the previous two years.

Linsley started all 16 games for the Packers at center and became a force in the run game. The former Ohio State Buckeye was also solid in pass protection. His emergence allowed the Packers to have their best overall offensive line play in over a decade.

Not bad for a fifth-round draft pick, huh?

The Packers also brought in wide receiver Davante Adams with their second-round selection, and Adams played in all 16 games, starting 11 of them. For the season, Adams had 38 receptions for 446 yards and three touchdowns.

In the third round, the Packers used one of their two picks to select tight end Richard Rodgers. Rodgers doesn't have great speed and he needs to improve his blocking, but he also may have the best hands on the team.

In his rookie year, Rodgers played in all 16 games and started five of them. No. 89 had 20 receptions for 225 yards and two touchdowns.

Each of these players should improve in his second season in the NFL, just like many other players on the Packers have done in the past.

This is why the rest of the draft class could also have an impact in 2015, including defensive lineman Khyri Thornton (third round), linebacker Carl Bradford (fourth round), wide receiver Jared Abbrederis (fifth round), cornerback Demetri Goodson (sixth round) and wide receiver Jeff Janis (seventh round).

2013 Draft

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The 2013 NFL draft was also a big success for the Packers overall. The biggest reason was the performance of running back Eddie Lacy, who was selected in the second round with the 61st overall pick.

No. 27 ended up being the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2013, as Lacy rushed for 1,178 yards and 11 touchdowns, plus 35 receptions for 257 yards.

Lacy also made the Packers a dual-threat offense—with his legs and the arm of Aaron Rodgers. Lacy had another fine season in 2014, as he rumbled for 1,139 yards and nine more rushing touchdowns.

The former Alabama star has also become a complete back who can stay on the field for all three downs. He really improved his blocking as well as his receiving ability, as he had 42 catches for 427 yards and four more scores.

The 2013 draft class also brought left tackle David Bakhtiari to the Packers in the fourth round. Bakhtiari ended up starting all 16 games for the Packers at left tackle after Bryan Bulaga suffered a season-ending knee injury early in training camp.

The former Colorado star was solid as a rookie at left tackle, but he really improved in his second year at the position after getting stronger.

Bakhtiari was another reason why the offensive line improved so much in 2014.

The 2013 draft also brought defensive back Micah Hyde, who was drafted in the fifth round out of Iowa. Hyde has played in all 32 games on defense during the past two years and is probably the best tackler in the secondary. He had 114 combined tackles, two sacks and two interceptions in 2013 and 2014.

Hyde has also been very good on special teams, as he has returned three punts for touchdowns in the past two seasons.

The Packers' first-round draft pick in 2013 was defensive end Datone Jones. Jones was hampered by an ankle injury during his rookie season, but he has shown flashes of becoming a solid contributor on defense.

Another selection in the fifth round brought the Packers Josh Boyd, who has become part of the regular rotation on the defensive line.

The seventh-round pick in 2013 was Sam Barrington, who really took off in his second season with the Packers at inside linebacker. No. 58 looks to be one of the key players at that position for the Packers in 2015 and beyond.

2012 Draft

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As good as the draft classes were in 2014 and 2013, the 2012 draft class had some shortcomings. In fact, the Packers selected eight players in that draft, but only three remain with the team.

So obviously there were some failures in this draft. Players no longer on the roster include defensive lineman Jerel Worthy, safety Jerron McMillian, linebacker Terrell Manning, offensive tackle Andrew Datko and quarterback B.J. Coleman.

Still, the remaining three players from the draft are on the team and all get regular playing time. They are linebacker Nick Perry, cornerback Casey Hayward and defensive lineman Mike Daniels.

Perry was selected in the first round out of USC and was injury-prone during his first two years in the NFL. No. 53 missed 15 games in those first two seasons but showed flashes of being solid versus the run and also had six sacks.

In 2014, Perry played in 15 games and had three sacks. Because of the addition of linebacker Julius Peppers, Perry did not get the playing time he received during his first two years.

But once the Packers moved outside linebacker Clay Matthews inside on running downs, Perry played more often on the outside and helped improve the Packers run defense in the second half of the season.

Hayward was the second of two picks in the second round of the 2012 draft and had an exceptional rookie year with six interceptions. Hayward manned the slot corner position more times than not.

The former Vanderbilt star had most of his second season wiped out due to a hamstring injury that put him on injured reserve.

In 2014, Hayward played in all 16 games and had 43 combined tackles, seven passes defensed and three interceptions, with one of those picks going for a touchdown.

Daniels was drafted in the fourth round out of Iowa, and he has become one of the biggest contributors on the defensive line.

No. 76 showed flashes during his rookie year with two sacks, and he also had two fumble recoveries, including one for a touchdown. Daniels really broke out in his second season with the Packers, as he had 6.5 sacks.

In 2014, Daniels started all 16 games and had 41 combined tackles and 5.5 sacks.