With longtime general manager Ted Thompson being forced out of that role following a 7-9 season, the hope is that the Green Bay Packers might change their draft strategy.
It’s been a major point of contention among fans and was likely the primary reason Green Bay couldn’t overcome an Aaron Rodgers injury to earn a ninth consecutive playoff appearance.
In talking about the Packers’ draft-and-develop strategy, Pro Bowl safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix had some rather interesting remarks.
“I think that’s exactly what it is. We go from our starters to basically [street] free agent players. Sometime that can hurt as we’ve seen through the years that I’ve been here, that we don’t have the guys behind us that we had,” Clinton-Dix said, via the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “Jarrett Bush (was) here when I was a rookie. We don’t have the Micah Hydes that can step in, we don’t have the Chris Banjos or the Sean Richardons that can step in and be held accountable. I think that’s the biggest thing we’re missing.”
It’s this lack of depth that came back to bite the Packers in the back end during the team’s worst season since 2008. Sure the Rodgers injury hurt big time and received most of the attention in Green Bay. Even then, the team had to rely on several unproven players to take over for starters throughout the season.
Rookie defensive backs Josh Jones and Kevin King started a combined 12 games, struggling a great deal in the process. For his part, Jones was forced to play more of a safety role when he seemingly fits better at linebacker. Both players should have been given more time to get acquainted with the speed of the NFL before being thrown into the fire.
As Clinton-Dix notes, the Packers have been unwilling to retain key players after their rookie contracts expire. That would have created the necessary depth to avoid a major downtick in overall production once injuries inevitably took place.
We’re not too sure if this strategy is going to change too much with a new GM taking over in the front office. But it’s something the Packers will have to look long and hard at if they want to be taken seriously as Super Bowl contenders moving forward.