Recalling Rodgers’ Infamous Draft-Day Slide

GREEN BAY, Wis. – In 2005, quarterbacks Alex Smith and Aaron Rodgers were considered the front-runners to be the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft.

Smith ultimately went No. 1 to San Francisco. Rodgers, meanwhile, endured the longest of nights before finally landing with the Green Bay Packers alongside the legendary Brett Favre with the 24th pick. Smith has had a good career but Rodgers has had a brilliant career. He won a Super Bowl in 2010, reached four other NFC Championship Games and has won three MVPs.

Rick Gosselin of SI.com’s Talk of Fame Network took a trip down memory lane by dusting off comments from 10 talent evaluators leading up to the 2005 draft. The opinion on Rodgers at the time was truly split.

“Mechanical. None of (Cal coach Jeff) Tedford’s guys have made it yet,” was one offensive coordinator’s critique.

That was true. Trent Dilfer, Joey Harrington, Akili Smith and Kyle Boller all were top draft prospects who failed to live up to their first-round status. Rodgers, however, shed Tedford’s mechanical ways to become one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history.

With Favre on the roster, Rodgers was Green Bay’s surprise first-round pick in 2005. With Rodgers on the roster, Jordan Love was Green Bay’s surprise first-round pick in 2021. Rodgers responded with an MVP season.

“I’m fortunate that he did pick me,” Rodgers said before the NFC Championship Game and after the passing of Ted Thompson. “I remember going to the Combine in 2005 and coming back and talking to George Cortez, my offensive coordinator at Cal, he was asking how the process went. I said, ‘It was a lot of fun, but that Green Bay interview was pretty tough though. The general manager Ted Thompson and Mike Sherman, they were grilling me on a bunch of stuff and there was a camera in my face. I don’t know man, I’m glad they’re picking 24th because I won’t be there.’ Of course, famous last words.”

As Gosselin noted, the Cowboys and Vikings both passed on Rodgers twice in the 2005 draft. The Bears, Bengals, Browns, Buccaneers, Cardinals, Chargers, Chiefs, Dolphins, Jaguars, Lions, Panthers, Raiders, Rams, Ravens, Saints, Titans, Texans, 49ers and Washington also passed up the chance to draft Rodgers.

Rodgers landed in Green Bay to give the Packers an unprecedented run of quarterbacking greatness.

“A lot of emotions over the years,” Rodgers said on Dec. 2, his 37th birthday. “When Oakland traded up, I thought I was going to be going to Oakland on draft day. When there were rumors about me being traded for Randy Moss, I thought that might be a possibility. After the ‘07 season, I never thought Favre would retire. Once I became the starter, I thought I was going to have the gig for a while. Haven’t had thoughts in the last eight or 10 years about doing anything other than this, for sure. This is what I’ve wanted to do, be the quarterback here.

“It’s been a dream come true. I’ve grown up in the city I was drafted at 21 years old, so I’ve had a lot of birthdays here. I feel really fortunate to have spent so much time here, to be a resident of the great state of Wisconsin, to live in this city and the surrounding cities for so many years. If you had told that 21-year-old he’d still be sitting here at 37, I’d be pretty happy about that, as happy as I am today to still be here.”

For the full story on Rodgers, including the comments from the personnel evaluators, click here.