NFL Draft Review: Packers Draft Picks: Where Are They Now?

Sometimes, it takes a change of scenery to find success.

Some of the Green Bay Packers' best NFL Draft picks didn't have their greatest success in Green Bay. Here are some of the Packers' picks from the past 13 years still playing in the NFL, but for other teams.

This generally notes Packers picks who have left Green Bay at some point in the past decade or so, noting some recent Draft choices who are trying to get their careers on track elsewhere too. It doesn't include pre-2000 players like Mark Brunell and Terrell Buckley; we're focusing on active players in the NFL as of 2018 or 2019.

Working in reverse order of NFL Drafts, we can cross off 2019 as far as players playing elsewhere: All 2019 picks had some contribution to the Packers in their rookie seasons. Nearly all of their picks are expected to see increased roles in 2020 to boot, so for now, the most recent NFL Draft class as of this email is still contributing to only Green Bay.

2018, however, is a different story. Already, three of the team's choices are off of the roster, most notably J'Mon Moore, who is currently with the Cleveland Browns. Moore was a fourth-round pick (133 overall) by the Packers in 2018, the first of three receivers picked in that Draft, and caught just two passes for 12 yards with Green Bay. Also gone are seventh-round picks James Looney (out of the league) and Kendall Donnerson, who is currently with the Las Vegas Raiders.

In 2017, the Packers had multiple picks in four rounds, but no first-round pick. One of their second-round picks, Josh Jones, is already gone; he spent the 2019 season with the Dallas Cowboys, appearing in six games, but Jones is currently on the Jacksonville Jaguars roster.

Our first example of a player succeeding elsewhere is 2017's first fourth-round pick, Vince Biegel. The former Wisconsin Badger was a consolation prize of sorts for the Packers trading down from #29 overall, passing on future First-Team All-Pro and fellow Badger T.J. Watt, who went to Pittsburgh at #30. Biegel had an injury-plagued rookie campaign and spent his sophomore season with New Orleans. Biegel found his home in Miami in 2019, starting 10 games for the Dolphins and playing in a career-high 15.

Both of the Packers' 2017 wide receiver picks didn't pan out; fifth-rounder DeAngelo Yancey is out of the NFL and so is seventh-round flyer Malachi Dupre, who played in just one game.

Sixth-round pick Kofi Amichia spent the last few weeks of last season on the San Francisco 49ers practice squad, but hasn't appeared in an NFL game yet. Seventh-round running back Devante Mays spent 2019 on injured reserve for the Jacksonville Jaguars, but hasn't appeared in an NFL game since 2017 with the Packers.

Only two 2016 picks are still with the Packers: first-round choice Kenny Clark and fourth-round pick Dean Lowry, both along the defensive line. Second-round pick Jason Spriggs spent 2019 on injured reserve for the Packers and is currently a free agent. Third-round pick edge rusher Kyler Fackrell, just signed a one-year free-agent deal with the New York Giants, while fourth-round selection linebacker Blake Martinez also signed with the Giants on a three-year contract this offseason.

2016 fifth-round pick Trevor Davis, a receiver/kick returner, was traded by Green Bay during the 2019 season to the Raiders, who waived him. Miami scooped him up in December, and Davis played the final three games in 2019 as a Dolphin (and 14 games overall in 2019 between three teams). Sixth-round pick Kyle Murphy spent 2019 on the Houston Texans practice squad, but hasn't appeared in an NFL game since three starts in 2017.

Nobody remains on the Packers from the 2015 Draft class. First-round pick Damarious Randall was shipped to Cleveland in exchange for DeShone Kizer. Second-round pick Quenten Rollins hasn't played since 2017. In fact, only four players from this eight-player Draft are still active as of the 2019 season: free agent running back Ty Montgomery, who played last year with the Jets; free agent linebacker Jake Ryan, who played two games for Jacksonville in 2019 before ending up on injured reserve; and quarterback Brett Hundley, who re-upped with Arizona this offseason.

Two 2014 choices are still with the Packers, and still in starting roles: receiver Davante Adams and center Corey Linsley. First-round pick Ha Ha Clinton-Dix spent 2019 in Chicago and will play in 2020 with Dallas, rejoining former Packers coach Mike McCarthy. Third-round selection tight end Richard Rodgers has played sparingly the past two seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles. Nobody else from this class lasted beyond 2017.

2013 features just one current Packers player, David Bakhtiari, a fourth-round selection. Fellow fourth-rounder J.C. Tretter is a mainstay on the Cleveland Browns, having started all 48 games the past three years on the offensive line. Fifth-round pick Micah Hyde went on to a Pro Bowl season with Buffalo, where he has started 47 games in three seasons there as a defensive back. Seventh-round pick Charles Johnson never saw the field for the Packers, but has found his way to various practice squads, most recently with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2019, despite not playing in an NFL game since 2016.

2012's top four Packers picks all played in the NFL as recently as 2018. Second-round pick Jerel Worthy, a defensive lineman, played in 2018 for Tampa Bay and is still trying to give pro football a go. First-round pick Nick Perry hasn't made it onto a roster since being cut by Green Bay in 2018. Another second-round pick, Casey Hayward, has had two Pro Bowl seasons with the Chargers, where he still plays, since leaving Green Bay after the 2015 season. Fourth-round pick Mike Daniels played nine games for Detroit in 2019 before ending the year on IR. Daniels played seven years in Green Bay prior to the move.

Three players sustained long careers from the Packers' 2011 Draft class. Second-round selection Randall Cobb is now with the Houston Texans after a long and productive career in Green Bay. Cobb played last year for the Dallas Cowboys. Fourth-round pick Davon House, who retired two months ago, had a two-year interlude with Jacksonville but played several years in Green Bay.

Perhaps one of the most interesting Packers Draft pick stories involves 2011 seventh-round pick-up Lawrence Guy, who has played for four teams since leaving Green Bay. Currently a member of the Patriots, Guy has also played for Baltimore, Indianapolis, and San Diego, and won a Super Bowl with New England.

2010 has three active Packers Draft class members in the NFL: first-round pick Bryan Bulaga, who left Green Bay this offseason to sign a lucrative deal with the Los Angeles Chargers, is probably the most notable. After 102 games with Green Bay, third-round selection safety Morgan Burnett has played for Pittsburgh and Cleveland the last two years and is currently a free agent. Journeyman offensive lineman Marshall Newhouse has taken a world tour since leaving the Packers after the 2013 season, playing in games for Cincinnati, New York (Giants), Oakland, Buffalo, Carolina, and in 15 games (nine starts) last year for New England. He was a fifth-round pick.

Only four players drafted by the Packers in 2009 or earlier are still playing in the NFL as of 2019: Aaron Rodgers, Mason Crosby, Clay Matthews (a free agent, spent last year with the Rams), and Clark Harris, a 2007 seventh-round long snapper who has appeared in 172 NFL games, mostly with Cincinnati.

Overall, the Packers had an interesting decade of drafting, and it's been interesting to see how players like Casey Hayward, Vince Biegel, Micah Hyde, and Lawrence Guy have gone on to find success in other NFL venues after being drafted by the Packers.

Photo: Getty Images (Micah Hyde)