By MARQUES EVERSOLL

This is season No. 10 for Ted Thompson as the general manager of the Green Bay Packers. Under Thompson, the Packers have been a perennial contender. They’ve won a bunch of games (89), four division championships and made the playoffs six times—every year except his first two, and the 2008 season when the Packers transitioned from Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers.

There haven’t been many speed bumps. Thompson’s track record speaks for itself.

But never in Thompson’s tenure—except for maybe 2009—have the Packers had a rookie class that’s contributed so much so early. Second-round wide receiver Davante Adams has already caught his quarterback’s eye. Third-round tight end Richard Rodgers rode a hot training camp into a Week 1 starting job. Fifth-round center Corey Linsley was forced into the starting lineup when J.C. Tretter suffered a knee injury, and now, it looks like Linsley may keep his job even when Tretter returns. Oh yeah, and the Packers’ first-round pick Ha Ha Clinton-Dix looks like exactly that—a first-round pick.

Is it Thompson’s best draft class ever? Even the most reactionary wouldn’t rush to that conclusion after five games, and in all likelihood, no class will ever top his first.

Of course, Thompson’s very first pick was quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who would later succeed Brett Favre and go on to lead the Packers to Super Bowl XLV, while earning the game’s MVP in the process prior to being named the league MVP the following season. On his first swing at the plate, Thompson hit a grand slam. He found a(nother) franchise quarterback.

Thompson’s second pick that year was a little-known defensive back from Bethune-Cookman. Before being forced into retirement with a neck injury, Nick Collins was voted to three Pro Bowls. His first six years looked like the beginning of a Hall of Fame career.

Thompson was obviously off to a great start.

The Packers always rely on young players to contribute early, and fans often criticize Thompson for building a team almost exclusively through the draft. He turned to free agency in 2006 to sign veterans Charles Woodson and Ryan Pickett, and the early returns on Julius Peppers are glowing, but for the most part, Thompson has opted to stockpile draft picks and allow his staff to develop young talent under the Packers’ system.

Thompsons’ 2009 draft class, including B.J. Raji, Clay Matthews, T.J. Lang and Brad Jones, contributed in their first year and have become key players for the Packers. And initially, this year’s class has had similar production.

Adams, the team’s second-round pick last May, caught his first career touchdown Oct. 2 against the Vikings. It happened to be touchdown pass No. 200 for Aaron Rodgers, but the veteran let the rookie keep that milestone ball. This past week, Rodgers has spoke glowingly of Adams.

“Davante, he’s open on film a lot,” Rodgers said. “He’s run a lot of good routes. He only had one catch last week (touchdown), but if he stays confident and keeps making plays like he’s been doing in practice, the ball is going to keep coming his way.”

Thompson has an impressive track record of picking receivers in the second and third rounds. Greg Jennings (52^nd in 2006), James Jones (78^th in 2007), Jordy Nelson (36^th overall in 2008), and Randall Cobb (64^th in 2011) all developed into difference makers. But initially as rookies, Jennings, Jones, Nelson and Cobb combined for season averages of 45 catches, 512 yards and two scores. Part of becoming a regular contributor in any offense is gaining the quarterback’s trust, which can be tough for a rookie.

“It’s a process,” Adams said. “It’s not going to happen over the course of five weeks. I’m not going to say—I don’t know if there’s such thing as 100 percent trust because, I mean, if he’s throwing me the ball, then he’s trusting me to do the right thing. So, I guess, either the trust is there or it’s not.”

Adams has played 74 percent of the Packers’ snaps the past two weeks and seemingly replaced Jarrett Boykin as the No. 3 option, so based on workload, one would figure Adams’ rookie numbers will be closer to Jennings (45-632-3) and Jones (47-676-2) than Nelson (33-366-2) and Cobb (25-375). If Adams follows a similar career path as his predecessors, then the Packers’ passing game will be in good hands.

The offense has hit its stride of late, despite starting a fresh face at center for the fourth straight year. Linsley was thrown into the fire Week 1 against in Seattle—probably the league’s most hostile environment—and he’s performed admirably.

“If things keep going the way they’re going, I think we’ll look back on this start as probably one of the most impressive situations that a young player has stepped up and performed in my time here,” McCarthy said. “And we’ve had a lot of guys step up.”

Someone needed to rise to the occasion at safety after a disastrous 2013 season. Clinton-Dix, in just his third career game, came up with the first interception by a Packers safety since Dec. 12, 2012. Technically, he’s not a starter, but he plays like one. The Packers haven’t gotten much from their last three first-round picks (Datone Jones, Nick Perry, Derek Sherrod) in their first year; Clinton-Dix is different.

Injured rookies Khyri Thornton and Jared Abbrederis won’t play this season, but both could be in line to play a role next season. Richard Rodgers and Jeff Janis flashed their potential in training camp. This class could be even better than it seems, but it all starts with the trio of Clinton-Dix, Linsley and Adams.

Fast-forward three years. If Adams proves to be another second-round gem, Linsley grasps the starting job and stops the Packers’ trend of recycling centers, and Clinton-Dix becomes the ball-hawking safety they haven’t had since Collins, then this draft class will rank among the best in Thompson’s tenure.