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Active GMs with best record of drafting Pro Bowlers
For all the grief Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones receives when it comes to his football acumen, guess which NFL decision-maker has drafted the highest percentage of Pro Bowl players?
It's Jones -- 14.7 percent of his draftees (34 of them) have made at least one Pro Bowl. In all, 17 current NFL decision-makers have drafted players who have made it to a Pro Bowl.
Here's a look at the 10 -- actually, it's 11 because of a tie -- who have drafted the highest percentage of Pro Bowlers. Players who have been to multiple Pro Bowls count only once.
The skinny: Grigson has had 9.09 percent of his draftees (two players) make it to a Pro Bowl. That's a relatively good hit rate so far; it helps when an executive's initial first-round pick is a no-brainer: Andrew Luck.
The skinny: Newsome also has had 9.09 percent of his draftees (10 players) make it to a Pro Bowl. Haloti Ngata, Terrell Suggs and Marshal Yanda are among those who have been picked under Newsome's watch.
The skinny: Brown has had 9.52 percent of his draftees (20 players) make a Pro Bowl. Geno Atkins, Andy Dalton and A.J. Green are three of his most recent success stories.
The skinny: Spielman has had 10.34 percent of his draft picks (three players) with the Vikings make it to a Pro Bowl. OT Matt Kalil was his first first-round selection as the Vikes' GM.
The skinny: Thompson, a former scout, has seen 10.42 percent of his draft picks (10 players) eventually become Pro Bowl players. Non-first-rounders such as Josh Sitton and Greg Jennings have worked out quite well.
The skinny: The hoodied-one has had 10.53 percent of his draft picks (14 players) make a Pro Bowl. His 14 Pro Bowl draftees are the fourth-highest total among current decision-makers. Vince Wilfork, Logan Mankins and Rob Gronkowski (a second-rounder) are among his draftees.
The skinny: Colbert has had 12.30 percent of his draftees (15 players) become Pro Bowlers. His 15 Pro Bowl draftees are the third-highest among current decision-makers. He has worked with Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin, and has provided those coaches with players such as Troy Polamalu, Ben Roethlisberger and Le'Veon Bell.
The skinny: Smith has had 12.33 percent of his draft picks (nine players) make it to a Pro Bowl. Smith first-rounder J.J. Watt, the 11th overall pick when he came out, might end up being the best defensive player of his era. (An aside: Smith played at Purdue from 1988-92; a teammate in his final two seasons at Purdue was Ryan Grigson.)
The skinny: Schneider has had a lot of success in a relatively short amount of time. He has had 14.58 percent of his draftees (seven players) make a Pro Bowl. Kam Chancellor, Richard Sherman and Russell Wilson are among his draftees.
The skinny: Almost 15 percent (14.60) of Loomis' draft picks have been Pro Bowlers (12 players). Fourth-rounder Jahri Evans and third-rounder Jimmy Graham, who played just one season of college football, are among his most notable middle-round hits.
The skinny: Almost 15 percent (14.72) of Jones' draft picks have been Pro Bowlers (34 players, 14 more than anybody else currently making draft decisions). Among his non-first-round picks who have paid off are RB DeMarco Murray and TE Jason Witten, a third-rounder who has been to 10 Pro Bowls.
