The 2014 season was an incredibly disappointing one for Green Bay Packers fans. Not because the team played poorly; no, the team were superb all season long. Rather, it was an incredible disappointment because of the Packers utter capitulation against the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game. Green Bay utterly dominated the first half, and went into the break with a 16-0 lead. They led by a score of 19-7 with less than five minutes left in the game before Seattle staged an unbelievable comeback to take the lead 22-19.
Although Green Bay would be able to tie the score and send the game to overtime, they lost to Seattle on the Seahawks' opening drive of the extra period. The game was one of the most disappointing of all time for Packers fans, and leaves them wondering what the team must do to once again get their hands on the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Packers fans were given the beginning of that answer on Thursday night when General Manager Ted Thompson selected Damarious Randall of Arizona State with the 30th pick, filling Green Bay's pressing need for depth in the secondary.
This is the second year in a row that the Packers have taken a defensive back in the first round of the draft, having taken Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix last season. Randall spent his college career playing as a safety for the Sun Devils, but many experts see him as someone who will transition to play cornerback in the pros. With Sam Shields and either Casey Hayward or Micah Hyde looking to occupy the top two cornerback slots, Randall will be expected to provide cover as a nickleback.
Green Bay, in spite of losing cornerback Tramon Williams, are looking to build one of the strongest secondaries in all of the National Football League. Shields is one of the best cover corners in football, and Morgan Burnett and Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix are forging a strong partnership at safety. Randall will add more speed and athleticism to that secondary, and could play a bigger role going forward given that Hayward is entering the last year of his contract.
Randall has been a name mentioned in various mock drafts, and ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. expressed his feelings that this a terrific pick for the Packers. Kiper went on to state that he felt Randall could have been picked as high as the #20-23 range, but questions remain over his tackling ability.
Randall was named a First Team All-Pac 12 selection in 2014, and finished with 106 tackles and three interceptions.