The four-hour slide

ESPN’s cameras stayed on Rodgers throughout the slide. He’d flown to New York with his family expecting to be the #1 pick by his hometown 49ers (he grew up in Chico, California, two hours north of San Francisco). Instead Niners GM Scot McCloughan and head coach Mike Nolan picked Smith — Utah’s quarterback and Urban Meyer’s first major recruit.

After Smith went #1, the next 22 picks were defensive players, running backs, wide receivers — but no quarterbacks. Tampa Bay (#5) picked Cadillac Williams. Cleveland (#3) took Braylon Edwards. Miami (#2) picked Ronnie Brown. Pick after pick. Rodgers later told reporters he’d never been so embarrassed in his life. The Packers — under GM Ted Thompson — finally took him at #24.

Three seasons of waiting behind Favre

Rodgers sat behind Brett Favre for three full seasons (2005-07), starting only two games as a rookie injury fill-in. The succession was awkward; Favre publicly contemplated retirement multiple times, retired in March 2008, then changed his mind weeks later — by which point Green Bay had committed to Rodgers as the starter. Favre was traded to the Jets that summer.

Rodgers’ first year as the starter (2008): 4,038 passing yards, 28 TDs. He won Super Bowl XLV in his third year (2010 season), beating Pittsburgh 31-25 with the game’s MVP. He has since won four NFL MVP awards (2011, 2014, 2020, 2021), tying Brett Favre for the most by a Packer.

The other 2005 first-round QBs (and what happened to Smith)

Only two quarterbacks were taken in the 2005 first round — Smith (#1 to San Francisco) and Rodgers (#24 to Green Bay). Smith’s career took longer to find a home: he was traded to Kansas City in 2013 and made three Pro Bowls there before a Washington stint that ended with a leg injury. He retired after the 2018 season.

Other notable 2005 picks: Cedric Benson (#4, Bears), Cadillac Williams (#5, Bucs), DeMarcus Ware (#11, Cowboys — also Hall of Fame), Shawne Merriman (#12, Chargers), Jammal Brown (#13, Saints), Heath Miller (#30, Steelers). 2005 was a strong defensive class with two future Hall of Famers (Rodgers and Ware) and several long-tenured starters.

Background facts cross-referenced with the Wikipedia article on Aaron Rodgers and Pro-Football-Reference / Basketball-Reference public records. Lead image via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0).