The Green Bay Packers were one player away from disaster Thursday night in the first round of the National Football League draft. Prospect after prospect the Packers held in high regard and held out hopes might be available at their No. 21 position had to be removed from their draft board. Finally, it came down to the slot just ahead of Green Bay. What would have been the reaction among the Packers' decision-makers if the New Orleans Saints would have selected safety Ha'Sean "Ha Ha" Clinton-Dix of Alabama with pick No. 20. "I would have been crushed," general manager Ted Thompson said. Instead, the Saints took wide receiver Brandin Cooks leaving Clinton-Dix for the Packers to fill an immense void in their secondary. Clinton-Dix, 6 feet 1½ inches and 207 pounds, is a third-year junior and two-year starter. He isn't overly fast, athletic, physical or cerebral. What he is, according to Thompson, is complete. "I think it's the fact that he's all-around," Thompson said. "There's not a lot of holes in him. We think that's good. And I think he's got really good ball skills." Clinton-Dix was a teammate of Eddie Lacy's on the Crimson Tide in 2011-'12. Lacy won rookie of the year honors, and Clinton-Dix, given the sorry shape of the Packers' safety position, will be expected to be a plug-and-play starter. "He's an accomplished football player," Thompson said. Unlike last year, when an accomplished player such Lacy dropped into Green Bay's hands with the second-to-last pick of the second round, this night was less fortunate for the Packers. Thompson called it a tough night, and it certainly had to be. Clinton-Dix figures to play 100% of the downs. So probably would have, at least in time, the two premier inside linebackers the Packers had been eyeing for months. Ohio State's Ryan Shazier, with extraordinary 4.38 speed for the position, has the breathtaking athleticism and big-play capability that Clinton-Dix doesn't. C.J. Mosley, Clinton-Dix's teammate at Alabama, was a far more valuable member of coach Nick Saban's defense. The Packers' hearts no doubt skipped a beat when Pittsburgh swooped in to draft Shazier at No. 15. Two picks later, the Packers' dreams of making a significant speed upgrade at inside linebacker died when Mosley went to Baltimore. "There were good players that were taken off," said Thompson. "You start wondering what's going to happen. We feel ecstatic, though." Louisiana State's Odell Beckham, the speed wide receiver-kick returner who would have fit perfectly in Green Bay, was eliminated when the New York Giants claimed him at No. 12. Two picks before that, premier receiving tight end Eric Ebron of North Carolina went 10th to Detroit. "Things happen during a draft and a lot of times it's a surprise and you just go with it," said Thompson. "That's the reason we were fortunate to get the pick we had." Meanwhile, Thompson and his people were on the horn fielding calls from teams clamoring for No. 21. - See more at: http://www.jsonline.com/sports/pack...cked-to-help-fix-back-of-Packers-defense.html
