Some Packers fans have seen the need for a talent upgrade at ILB for some time (including me) but it’s not as if Thompson and staff have ignored the position and they’ve had some bad luck with injuries. After winning the Super Bowl, the Packers had Bishop and Hawk starting at ILB going into the 2011 season. Bishop (a 2007 6th rounder) had stepped in for Nick Barnett about a month into the 2010 season and was great. Going into the 2011 season, DJ Smith was drafted in the 6th round and Lattimore made the roster as an UDFA. Francois also made the 2011 roster. The 2011 D was bad but I wouldn’t put that mainly on the ILBs. Going into 2012, Hawk and Bishop were still expected to be the starters at ILB and Thompson traded up into the 5th round for Terrell Manning, who they were high on. Bishop got hurt in the 2012 preseason, ending his Packers career.
Before the 2012 season, DJ Smith was one of Pro Football Focus’ secret superstars after he had played four games at ILB at the end of the previous season. He took over for Bishop and the Packers were high on him. He suffered an ACL tear which ended his Packers career and Brad Jones, who had switched from OLB to ILB before that season took over. He performed well enough to be rewarded with a 3-year deal before the 2013 season (he had finished the previous season third in tackles).
In addition to extending Jones, that spring the Packers forced Hawk to agree to a pay cut and Thompson drafted Barrington in the seventh round. So going into the 2013 season the Packers probably saw an ascending player in Brad Jones and a declining one in Hawk. They had Manning going into his second year but he ended up being a disappointment and was waived before the season. Francois, Lattimore and the rookie Barrington were the backups.
Going into the 2014 draft, many of us saw safety and ILB as the top priorities. Thompson can be criticized for not signing (even a mid-range) UFA ILB, but can anyone blame him at the time for not picking an ILB earlier in the draft? With the benefit of hindsight, passing on Clinton-Dix (either by trading down or not) would have been a huge mistake IMO. And it’s early but it looks to me like Davante Adams is going to be worthy of his draft status. The big mistake of that draft regarding ILB IMO happened afterward: Not putting Carl Bradford there at his first practice in Green Bay.
Except for injuries, Bishop and/or DJ Smith may be starting at ILB and Brad Jones would either be gone or a pretty good STs player. Instead of agreeing to a pay cut, Hawk may be playing somewhere else. A couple of players – Manning and Lattimore for example – didn’t live up to expectations but that’s the norm in the NFL. While we may complain about Thompson not spending higher picks at the position, my guess is we’d all like to have healthy sixth rounder Bishop at one of the spots inside. And I would have liked to see how DJ Smith would have developed. And I'll bet we’re all grateful for the insertion of seventh rounder Barrington into the starting lineup.
I hope the “experts” are right and an ILB is worthy of being picked at one of the Packers’ spots in the first couple of rounds of the draft. But don’t be surprised if Thompson goes for a player he and his staff have rated higher. Clay may or may not have fully accepted his new role but we’ve seen how significantly the D has improved since the switch, so from that standpoint the Packers are much better off going into next season. And we’ll see how Bradford and Joe Thomas improve at the position too. Even so, if both Hawk and Jones are gone, I hope to see one veteran ILB signed as insurance if one isn’t worthy of being picked relatively early in the draft.