It probably should go without saying, but when you are selecting in the top half of the first round of the NFL Draft, your first selection needs to be a player that can contribute immediately as a rookie.
The Packers haven’t been in this high of a draft position since 2009, when the team picked nose tackle B.J. Raji with the 9th selection and traded back into round one to land Clay Matthews at 26. Neither player started in week one of that season — Raji ended up rotating into the lineup and making just one start all season while Matthews started the final 13 games — but both were critical contributors to a defensive turnaround that landed the Packers seventh in the NFL in points allowed and second in yards.