Green Bay Packers 2014 Draft: Hits, Misses and Maybes

Oct 19, 2014; Green Bay, WI, USA; Green Bay Packers wide receiver Davante Adams (17) runs past Carolina Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis (58) to score a touchdown in the third quarter at Lambeau Field. The Packers beat the Panthers 38-17. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

The Green Bay Packers live and die by the NFL draft. As the league’s most homegrown roster by a substantial margin, general manager Ted Thompson has built a young pool of talent that allows for the Green Bay Packers ‘next man up’ philosophy. Thompson’s 2014 draft class brings a mixed bag of results, but 16 months removed from their names being called, we can now begin to take a critical look at the selections following their second offseason program.

Ha Ha Clinton-Dix was Green Bay’s top selection in the draft, 21st overall out of Alabama. In an ideal world, Clinton-Dix’s teammate and stud inside linebacker C.J. Mosley would have fallen past the Baltimore Ravens at No. 17, but the Packers cannot be displeased with a longterm cornerstone to pair with Morgan Burnett on the back-end of the secondary.

Thompson then snagged wide receiver Davante Adams in round two, but soon made selections in rounds three and four that are no longer on Green Bay’s 53-man roster. Thompson is respected league-wide as one of the NFL’s better player personnel men and generally performs very well on draft day, but a handful of positions have not been kind to him over the past decade.

The defensive line and linebacker positions are his foremost struggles, leaving Mike Daniels (2012) as the only true impact player drafted between those two spots since Clay Matthews and B.J. Raji were made first round picks in 2009. Ahead, we look at Green Bay’s nine picks from the draft one offseason ago. There have been hits and misses, but four remain in the middle, hoping to use 2015 as their breakout campaign.

Next: The Hits: Which 3 already qualify?