Friday, May 09, 2014

Reaction: Packers draft Alabama S Ha Ha Clinton-Dix in NFL Draft's first round

In case you don't already know, the Packers somewhat surprised us in last night's First Round, drafting Alabama Safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix with the 21st Overall Pick. Going into the round, most mock drafts had the Pack selecting either Oklahoma State CB Justin Gilbert or Ohio State LB Ryan Shazier, but since those two end up being taken 8th and 15th respectively Green Bay obviously had to choose someone else. 

Anyway, in his three years in Tuscaloosa, Clinton-Dix had a reputation for blowing up box scores, recording a combined 99 tackles and 7 interceptions. Most of those numbers, unsurprisingly, came for the Crimson Tide last season, in which Clinton-Dix collected 51 of those 99 takedowns and 2 of those 7 takeaways. 

Despite those intriguing stats, I still think it's safe to conclude that this guy, though clearly athletic, won't really dominant any games for the Pack anytime soon. In my opinion, he'll still contribute and wind up being a good selection, but due to the increased talent of the NFL he simply won't become what Shazier and Gilbert appear to be capable of: game changers.

In other news, North Carolina TE Eric Ebron, the prospect we Packers fans really wanted to succeed Jermichael Finley, was taken 10th overall by the Lions last night, a move not really surprising but still genuinely upsetting for obvious reasons.

1 comment:

Brandon said...

I'm not 100% sold on any of these guys (Gilbert, Ebron, Shazier). They've all got the potential to be great, but Gilbert is inconsistent, Ebron isn't a great blocker, and Shazier might be undersized. Clinton-Dix might only be the next Morgan Burnett, but I'm just pointing out the concerns about all of them.