Nick Collins isn't big on trivia contests, but the Green Bay Packer safety was quick on the draw last week.
Collins was asked how many of Ted Thompson's 51 draft picks have played in a Pro Bowl. Interestingly, Collins reacted with the same speed he pursues flying footballs.
"One," Collins said with a smirk. "Me. I'm not sure what else to say about that."
How about this:
Since Thompson was hired in January 2005 as the general manager, his philosophy has been to build a winning organization through the draft and by resigning his own players.
For the most part, Thompson has stayed in the shallow end of the pool when it comes to free agency and trades.
That philosophy certainly can work if your drafts are among football's finest year in and year out. But a major reason the Packers are 4-4 this season and just 35-37 during Thompson's tenure is his drafting has been nothing more than mediocre.
Thompson has conducted Green Bay's last five drafts, and here are the results:
Thompson has selected 51 players.
Thirty four of Thompson's picks are still either on the roster or the practice squad (66.7%)
Ten of Thompson's picks are currently starters (19.1%).
And as Collins stated, he's the only Thompson draft pick to have played in a Pro Bowl (2.0%).
Compared to some other general managers around the league, Thompson's draft record isn't bad. The problem is, it isn't special either.
And considering Thompson's apathy toward free agency and trades, he needs to hit home runs in the draft.
Had Thompson's draft record been better, the Packers might be better than 10-14 since Brett Favre was traded last summer.
Thompson didn't return phone calls for this story, but in April he said: "The draft is the biggest way you build a team, and I think it's the best way to build a team for the long run, because you have a draft every year, and you can work at it that way. . . .
"I think the draft is very important, and it's important whether you're active in free agency or not active in free agency. It's an investment in the future of your team."
That may be, but Thompson has failed on a surprising number of his draft picks. And it's a major reason the Packers continue to struggle on the offensive line and special teams.
Of Green Bay's 22 preferred offensive and defensive starters and its two kickers, five were brought in by Mike Sherman and three still belong to Ron Wolf.
Sherman was Green Bay's general manager from 2002-'04, and Wolf ran 10 drafts between 1992-2001.
Thompson has found 10 starters via the draft, a list that includes quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Collins in 2005; linebacker A.J. Hawk, guard Daryn Colledge, wideout Greg Jennings, center Jason Spitz, and defensive end Johnny Jolly in 2006; kicker Mason Crosby in 2007; guard Josh Sitton in 2008; and linebacker Clay Matthews in 2009.
Thompson's other six starters came from a variety of avenues. He signed nose tackle Ryan Pickett and cornerback Charles Woodson in free agency, traded for running back Ryan Grant, and signed street free agents in safety Atari Bigby, fullback John Kuhn and punter Jeremy Kapinos.
As Green Bay's general manager from 1991-2001, Wolf set the bar extremely high. He led the Packers to their only Super Bowl title in the last 42 years, and it didn't him long to turn around one of the worst franchises in football.
By the end of his fifth year on the job, Wolf had been to the playoffs four times, won a Super Bowl and played in two NFC Championship Games. Right now, Thompson has one playoff appearance in four seasons and faces long odds to reach the postseason this year.
While it might be unfair to compare Thompson to Wolf, today's fan base demands the best from the general manager and the entire organization. When examining the first five drafts of the two men, Thompson doesn't hold a candle to Wolf.
Wolf drafted 48 players during his first five years in Green Bay. By the end of Year 5, just 21 of those players remained (43.8%), meaning Wolf made quick decisions whether someone could play or not, and if they couldn't, he simply moved on.
Thirteen of Wolf's draft picks were starters (27.1%) on the 1996 Super Bowl championship team, and Mark Chmura was the lone player that had gone to a Pro Bowl.
But remarkably, nine players that Wolf selected during his first five drafts eventually were named to a Pro Bowl. That list included Mark Brunell, Dorsey Levens, Antonio Freeman, William Henderson, Adam Timmerman, Marco Rivera, Travis Jervey, Mike Flanagan and Chmura.
Unless many of Thompson's young players show dramatic improvement, there won't be more than a few of his current draft picks that ever reach the Pro Bowl.
Clearly, the other thing that separated Wolf from Thompson was his aggressiveness in free agency and making trades.
Wolf pulled off the greatest trade in franchise history in landing Favre, and also swapped for safety Eugene Robinson and tight end Keith Jackson during his first five years on the job. The only players that Thompson has traded for to ever start a game in Green Bay have been Grant, running back Vernand Morency and linebacker Robert Thomas.
Wolf was also very active in free agency, landing defensive ends Reggie White and Sean Jones, defensive tackle Santana Dotson and return ace Desmond Howard. Of Thompson's 10 free-agent signings, only Woodson and Pickett would be labeled difference makers.
The draft has always been Thompson's bread and butter, though. And had many of them turned out better, the Packers wouldn't be in their current predicament.
"I think we have done OK," Thompson said of his drafting back in April. "Again, this is not an exact science and it's people trying to predict the future of another person, but I think we have added a lot of core value to our team. I think we are pretty solid."
That can be debated.