Green Bay Packers safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix struggled through some down moments in the early portion of his rookie year, including spending the first six weeks as a reserve, but by the time the NFL playoffs rolled around, he had finally begun to deliver on the ample promise that made him a first-round pick only a handful of months prior.
Now that Clinton-Dix is embarking on Year Two, the expectations have, of course, gone up. No more rookie mistakes, no more learning experiences - Clinton-Dix is suddenly a veteran expected to offer significant aid to a Packers defensive secondary breaking in two new rookies in Damarious Randall and Quinten Rollins.
If Clinton-Dix's teammate and Packers nickelback - and the man Clinton-Dix replaced as a starter at safety during Week 7 last year - Micah Hyde's recent assessment is correct, it seems Packers fans can expect quite a leap for the young veteran defensive back in his second NFL season.
"From Year 1 to Year 2, he's going to make a huge jump. I can guarantee that. He's going to be a much better player," Hyde said, via Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
With corners Tramon Williams and Davon House off to new NFL homes in free agency this offseason, Packers head coach Mike McCarthy and defensive coordinator Dom Capers will be counting on the players still in place - players like Clinton-Dix - to help pick up the slack.
The 22-year-old Hyde finished his rookie year for Green Bay with 94 combined tackles, one interception and six passes defensed - numbers made even more impressive when you take into account the fact that it was almost a third of the way through the regular season before he replaced Hyde as a starter.
More important than the stats, though, was Clinton-Dix's development over the course of the year - in two playoff games, by then firmly entrenched as a starter, Clinton-Dix grabbed 11 tackles, two interceptions and three passes defensed, aiding the Packers to the NFC Championship Game.
Clinton-Dix also seemed to have a positive effect on backfield mate Morgan Burnett, who enjoyed a bit of a bounce-back year in 2014.
If Clinton-Dix takes the "jump" that Hyde expects him to in 2015, it should benefit not only himself, but Burnett, Hyde, Randall, Rollins and the whole Green Bay defensive unit as well.
