Since 2011, every first-round pick in the NFL has been handed a four-year contract with a non-negotiable fifth-year option, which can be picked up by the team ahead of the players’ fourth season.
The Packers are yet to exercise a fifth-year option on one of their first-rounders. Derek Sherrod, Green Bay’s first-round pick in 2011, was the first decision general manager Ted Thompson had to make, but he declined to pick up the option. Neither 2012 first-rounder Nick Perry or 2013 first pick Datone Jones had their options exercised.
Clinton-Dix may become the first. Selected with the 21st overall pick in 2014, the safety helped transform one of the defense’s biggest weaknesses into a strength.