The green room at the Javits Center in New York was supposed to be a celebration. Instead, it turned into a four-and-a-half-hour televised autopsy of a young man's ego. April 23, 2005. That’s the day the NFL world collectively decided Aaron Rodgers wasn’t "the guy," only for the Green Bay Packers to pull the trigger at pick 24 and change the trajectory of the sport for two decades.
Honestly, looking back at the Aaron Rodgers Packers draft night feels like watching a slow-motion car crash where the victim ends up winning the lottery. We remember the cameras panning to Rodgers every ten minutes, his tie slightly loosened, a plastic water bottle clutched in his hand as he watched guys like Troy Williamson and Mike Williams get called to the podium.
Why did he fall? How did 23 teams—many of them desperate for a savior under center—decide that a kid who threw for 2,563 yards and 24 touchdowns in his final season at Cal was radioactive?
✨ Don't miss: Wout van Aert Height: What Most People Get Wrong
The 49ers and the "Door Opening" Myth
It all started at the top. The San Francisco 49ers had the first overall pick. They needed a quarterback. It was down to Alex Smith from Utah or the local kid, Aaron Rodgers. Mike Nolan, the 49ers' head coach at the time, has since admitted that the decision came down to "paralysis by analysis."
There's this legendary, slightly absurd story that Nolan liked Smith because he opened the car door for his mother, while Rodgers came off as "cocky" or "arrogant" during their meetings. Nolan wanted a "safe" choice. He wanted a kid who was a "good person" and "pleasing."
Rodgers wasn't there to please. He was there to win.
When the 49ers took Smith, the floor fell out. Most experts, including ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr., assumed if Rodgers didn't go first, he’d go third to Cleveland or maybe fifth to Tampa Bay. Jon Gruden apparently told Rodgers he’d take him if he was there at five. Instead, the Bucs took "Cadillac" Williams. The slide was officially on.
Why the League Scoped Him Out
It wasn't just about personality. NFL scouts in 2005 were terrified of the "Jeff Tedford System." Tedford, the Cal coach, had a track record of producing first-round quarterbacks who flamed out spectacularly in the pros.
- Akili Smith (Drafted 3rd, massive bust)
- Joey Harrington (Drafted 3rd, struggled)
- Kyle Boller (Drafted 19th, never pounced)
The narrative was that Tedford coached his QBs to hold the ball high by their ear—the "shelf" position—and that they were products of a scheme rather than raw talent. Rodgers had that high release. He had the "Tedford Stigma." Scouts worried he couldn't throw the deep ball because he didn't "load up" the way traditional scouts liked.
Basically, the NFL overthought it. They looked at the guys who failed before him instead of looking at the twitchy, hyper-accurate athlete standing right in front of them.
The Green Bay Gamble
Enter Ted Thompson. The Packers' GM was in his first year. He had a 36-year-old Brett Favre who was still playing at a high level but was beginning his annual "will he, won't he" retirement dance.
The Packers didn't need a quarterback at 24. They had holes on defense. They needed a playmaker. But Thompson was a "Best Player Available" disciple. When Rodgers was still sitting there at 24, Thompson’s board basically screamed at him.
It was an awkward fit. Favre wasn't exactly thrilled. He famously told reporters that his contract didn't say anything about mentoring his replacement. For three years, the Aaron Rodgers Packers draft story was just a footnote while Rodgers sat on the bench, reworking his entire throwing motion and absorbing the hostility of a legend who didn't want him there.
The Teams That Still Regret It
If you want to see the long-term impact of that night, just look at the teams that passed.
- Cleveland Browns (Pick 3): They took Braylon Edwards. Since 2005, they’ve started over 30 different quarterbacks.
- Chicago Bears (Pick 4): They took Cedric Benson. They spent the next two decades in a perpetual search for a franchise QB.
- Minnesota Vikings (Pick 7): They took Troy Williamson, a wide receiver who struggled to catch. They eventually had to face Rodgers twice a year as he tore them apart.
- Miami Dolphins (Pick 2): They took Ronnie Brown. They passed on Rodgers and passed on Drew Brees in free agency a year later.
Total disaster for the mid-2000s QB-needy teams.
What Most People Get Wrong
People think Rodgers was a finished product in 2005. He wasn't. If he had gone to San Francisco at number one, he might have been ruined. The 49ers were a mess with a revolving door of offensive coordinators.
The "slide" was actually the best thing that ever happened to him. By falling to 24, he landed with a stable organization, sat behind a Hall of Famer, and worked with Mike McCarthy to drop that "high" Tedford release. He traded the ego-boost of being number one for the infrastructure of a champion.
Actionable Insights for Football Fans
- Trust the Tape over the "System": When evaluating prospects, don't let a coach's previous failures blind you to an individual's talent.
- Environment is Everything: A quarterback's success is roughly 50% talent and 50% where they land. Rodgers in Green Bay worked; Rodgers in 2005 Cleveland probably doesn't.
- The Value of the Bench: In the modern NFL, we rush rookies onto the field. Rodgers is the ultimate proof that "sitting and learning" can create a monster.
The draft night slide defines Aaron Rodgers even now. It gave him that permanent chip on his shoulder. When asked that night how disappointed he was that he wasn't a 49er, he gave the most "Rodgers" answer of all time: "Not as disappointed as the 49ers will be that they didn't draft me."
He wasn't lying.
Check your own team's draft history—how many times did they pass on a "sure thing" because of a perceived personality flaw? Usually, those are the guys who end up with the gold jackets.