Whether the Packers were drafting best player available or for need, the stars were aligned in round one of this year’s draft.
The wily Ted Thompson did nothing to surprise us. For once, he actually took the guy that nine out of 10 draft gurus would have predicted the Green Bay Packers would take with the draft board as it was when they were on the clock.
As it turned out, the best available player happened to be at the position where the Packers have the most need.
Ha Ha Clinton-Dix was supposed to be gone, likely to the Rams, Ravens or Bears, but the Rams couldn’t pass when Aaron Donald fell further down the board than anyone anticipated. The Ravens stole the Packers other hopeful in C.J. Mosley instead, and the Bears decided to draft a corner to replace Charles Tillman first. The Jets surprisingly took a safety, but preferred the big hitter in Calvin Pryor to the centerfielder-type in Clinton-Dix.
And thus, Dix was there for the taking. Ted Thompson pulled the trigger, and just like that, the Packers got the top-rated free safety in the draft, exactly the player they needed.
Let’s hope that this is another great player taken at the No. 21 spot. If he is, then the Packers have instantly upgraded the middle of their defense. And if I am Morgan Burnett, I’m sweating that Micah Hyde might be taking my job.
Clinton-Dix is 6’1″ and 210 pounds. He runs a 4.58, which is good but not great. This is what draft guru Mike Mayock has to say about Dix: “Of all the safeties in draft, this guy had the best range. He plays faster than his NFL Scouting Combine 40-yard dash time (4.58 seconds). He misses surprisingly few tackles, and as a centerfielder he’s a natural. For a big guy, his movement skills are very natural.”
Oh, and by the way, Clinton-Dix played for the 2012 Alabama team that won the title, the same team that Eddie Lacy played for. Not a bad idea to dip back into that well.
As long as Clinton-Dix can avoid the first-round injury flu, Thompson should have accomplished with him what we hope out of a first round pick — a player who can come in and start immediately.
Here is some video of the Packers first round pick Ha Ha Clinton-Dix to send you merrily on your way.
I’ve heard that he looked pretty upset when they picked him. Can anyone tell me if that is true? Or post a link?
This is VERY UN-true!
A few weeks ago, he had photos of himself in a Packers T-Shirt on Twitter. I know, because I have seen it.
F*ck no, dude. He actually thought we would pass on him & he was hoping for Philly. But luckily for Ha Ha, we took him 1st.
We are the type of organization for this dude.
Yessssssssssssssss
Is his conference call after the packers drafted him, he said that he only wore that shirt because he had just randomly picked it out. Nothing serious.
Also, recent articles say he was begging the eagles to do whatever it took to get him in the draft. The eagles had the pick right after us, so I think he got his hopes up. To me, he looked pretty disappointed when we took him.
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/05/08/ha-ha-clinton-dix-begging-the-eagles-to-come-get-him/
Ummm…what exactly does this prove again?
I was confirming that he did indeed look upset, and apparently for good reason since he wanted the eagles to draft him. So it was not ‘UN-true!’. Can you read?
Being disappointed with playing with GB, is a whole lot different than being disappointed that he didn’t get to play with the Eagles.
It doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to play with the team that picked him.
Charles Woodson didn’t want to come here. That worked out alright.
If he doesn’t want to be here, then he’ll have to play well to earn himself some cash elsewhere.
Eddie is here for him. He’ll be fine.
Yes, I saw the disappointment on his face. This article has the videos of him at the draft: http://www.packers.com/news-and-events/nfl-draft/article-1/Congratulations-Packers-fans-you-were-right/a5252d55-f6b5-4406-b693-d383898bd331
Could it be that the football gods are once again smiling on our beloved Green Bay Packers. …
This is the first time in a long time when a draft selection seemed so right, rather than just invoke a wait-and-see response.
I thought I saw some disappointment too. He was hoping to wind up in Philadelphia per some reports I saw on nfl network. I can’t tell if it was shock or disappointment on his face, but he certainly didn’t look excited.
lets see if TT can continue the good picks
We’ve had bad luck in the first round lately, this pick good enough to make me feel that that streak will end.
If he’s got any kind of character, once he gets to GB he will realize he landed in football Valhala.
I can’t fucking believe we landed HaHa
Honestly, I cannot fucking believe it
I wanted Pryor, but DAMN!! You cannot complain about Clinton-Dix!!
Hhhhoooooollllyyyyy Sssshhhhiiiittttt
Yea, dude…
I was pissed when a team like the Jets that need offense took Pryor. CD will be sweet tho
heres to hoping the jets fucking suck on offense
Well known I wanted Pryor but he was gone a few picks earlier so no matter. Bottom line is to increase HIGH level competition at positions of need. And…we did just that. Insuring ourselves in case of injury or possible experiments not working out, we grabbed a guy who I believe wanted to be here with his homeboy Easy Eddie. I’m very happy that Ted did not let his personal views of fans and media cloud his judgment and that he finally took a shot on a player many fans and analysts thought was a fit. Cheers to Ha Ha…let’s hope his pro career is better than his collegiate career (which wasn’t half bad).
Excited for tomorrow and Saturday!
Great night for Packer Nation!
First and foremost, that loser Johnny Manziel DIDN’T end up with the Minnesota Dikes — which pist off the entire state and now 99% of the Dike fans are on suicide watch. Rick Speilman better watch his back b/c some psycho fan is libel to stab him in the back. Awful draft for the Dikes — FU Vikings fans!!
HA HA Dix is the man. We needed this guy, huge addition to our defense and another ALABAMA STUD! Haters were all over Lacy last year too — how’d that work out for ya’all? Love the pick, great addition and perfect fit for our scheme.
Would love to see Pack upgrade LB, DT, OL and TE tomorrow.
Awful draft for the Vikings? They got Bridgewater, guy is going to be good. I hate that he’s in our division, but fuck, upgrading our secondary was so clutch. Love it
Heh, yea. I’m a little concerned that the Vikings got Bridgewater. And the way they got him caught me by surprise. This division just got a lot tougher.
Not really. I love that they will immediately have QB controversy
The lions got Eric Ebron. Bears got Kyle Fuller. The Vikings got Anthony Barr and Teddy Bridgewater. How exactly has the division not gotten tougher? And I don’t quite understand how there will be ‘quarterback controversy’, since Teddy Bridgewater will likely beat out anyone he has to ‘compete’ with.
K.L. My “Not Really” comment was in reference to Bridgewater.
He doesn’t scare immediately…but 2-3 years down the road he may be a very good QB.
Minny is a pretty decent team minus the QB position. All-in-all, the bears did the best of our 3 divisional opponents. But the PACK did better than all 3 of them considering where we picked.
Good thing that, 2 or 3 years from now, AD will be retired or on a major downward trajectory in his career and Teddy will have no one to throw to but Patterson (who Shields can likely handle) and the corpse of former No. 85.
Fuller will be replacing a great player who gave the Packers fits during his entire career.
Fuller doesn’t necessarily make the Bears better, rather they hope to maintain what they’ve had for years in two good corners.
Even with those two good corners, the Bears defense has been bad recently.
The Lions took another TE. They’ve always had some good ones- Pettigrew, Sheffler, Fauria. So, this doesn’t really change anything for them. Now, picking Fuller could have immediately made them a better team, and it is somewhat baffling that they didn’t take someone to help their secondary. Apparently, it is more important to management to try and justify the money they are overpaying their QB.
The Vikings have been drafting well ever since Spielman got in charge. They improved themselves again, and if Harrison Smith can come back healthy, they might make a bigger jump than some people are expecting. However, even if Bridgewater is the long-term answer at QB, it is unlikely the Vikings led by a rookie QB will be much threat to the Packers in 2014.
Lastly, with a healthy Aaron Rodgers, the Packers are a 13-3 to 11-5 type team, no one else in the division has even shown themselves to be a reliable 10 win team. In other words, the rest of the division HAS to get better to make up ground, and that is presuming that the Packers don’t improve as well.
I’m betting that guys is not good. Have you seen the highlight reel of the ducks he throws at guys feet? I’m not talking about about his pro day either, that was a whole other level of shittiness.
Guy is going to be good? Enough said by you. If your worried about Bridgewater you got issues pal
What a great pick, I really wanted Clinton dixx but I never thought he’d actually be available at pick 21. I’m thrilled with this selection, and cant’ wait to see what ted has in store with the rest of this draft.
I’m hoping for a miracle and ASJ slides to us in the second!
Body language can account for as much as 2/3rds of human communication. C-D’s reaction looked like shock — not the electrifying or excited kind, but rather total body shutdown. As if he was told he has to move to a polar region, where all the people are white and talk funny.
But what could be worse is the general take on this guy — see McGinn’s article: “What scouts say about the Packers’ pick.” It’s scary as hell. There’s almost 100% no consensus.
“I wouldn’t take him in the first”
vs
“He’d be a great pick at 21”
“He’s not particularly athletic”
vs.
“Real good athlete”
“He has hip tightness”
vs.
“Has feet, hips, range”
“I don’t think he can cover”
vs.
“He’s good in coverage”
“I love him, but he misses tackles”
vs
“He’s a very good tackler”
Sounds like we got a solid “Jekyll/Hyde” kind of guy.
Which could be good… offensive coordinators will be in fits: “I can’t gameplan this guy! He’s all over the place!”
How much can we judge his body language when the pick was announced (what we saw)? Presumably he would have already received the phone call from TT and MM telling him he was going to Green Bay.
That said, it’s clear he wanted to go to Philly. He seems like the kind of guy that will grow to love Green Bay, even though it’s not the place for a rich young man to have fun.
When the Saints moved up just in front of us, I thought “crap….they’re gonna get Ha Ha” The stars aligned for our beloved Pack.
I don’t care what his body language is/was. That was all predicated by perception. The reality of the situation will change his mind. Whenever you play with a guy as transcendent as ARodg, you always have a chance. He’s got a real opportunity to be a leader and make a difference.
Even Saban tells him try to look happy.
http://fanpass.nfl.com/story/211/bring-on-the-cheese
I still can’t believe we ended up with HaHa