GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Maybe the Green Bay Packers will find their next standout player Thursday night in the first round.
But there's almost as good a chance that the best player general manager Ted Thompson picks might just come in Friday's second round.
After that, however, the chances of finding a big-time star drop off significantly.
Thompson has actually found more Pro Bowl players in the second round during his 10 drafts. Granted, he has picked four more players in the second round than in the first, but five of his second-round picks have gone to at least one Pro Bowl, while four of his first-round selections achieved that honor.
Here's a look at where Thompson's Pro Bowl players were drafted:
First round: A.J. Hawk, Aaron Rodgers, Clay Matthews, B.J. Raji
Second round: Eddie Lacy, Randall Cobb, Jordy Nelson, Nick Collins, Greg Jennings
Third round: None
Fourth round: Josh Sitton
Fifth round: None
Sixth round: None
Seventh round: None
Two of Thompson's four Pro Bowl first-round picks – Rodgers and Matthews – have combined for nine Pro Bowls. Aside from Matthews' five Pro Bowl appearances and four by Rodgers, Raji and Hawk each made one Pro Bowl.
While Thompson is batting .400 (4 out of 10) in the first round in terms of Pro Bowl selections, five of his 14 second-round selections have combined for eight Pro Bowl appearances led by Collins (three), Jennings (two) and one each for Lacy, Cobb and Nelson.
That tells you that even if Thompson strikes out – or doesn't strike it big – in the first round on Thursday, the opportunity to do so in Friday's second round remains high.
And listening to Thompson talk last week during his pre-draft news conference, it’s clear he doesn't care whether he finds his stars in the first round or later in the draft.
"To me it doesn't [matter]," Thompson said. "We're adding value to the organization. Draft choices and a draft year is value. The question is how much value, and for how long is that value going to be there. That's the way we look at it. You can't get whacked out about the here and now, because that's not the overriding issue. Our overriding issue is making sure we make value picks."