When Aaron Rodgers sent a strong message to 49ers after being drafted by Packers
The NFL draft is on the way, and the league will soon witness some of its future stars on the roster. However, these drafts also bring forth some iconic moments that later become a part of NFL lore.
One such moment happened in 2005 when the Green Bay Packers selected Aaron Rodgers with the 24th pick, while the San Francisco 49ers picked Alex Smith with the No. 1 pick.
When interviewed by CBS Bay Area reporter Dennis O'Donnell after the draft in April 2005, Rodgers hit back at the 49ers for not drafting him.
"How disappointed are you that you will not be a 49er?" O'Donnell asked Rodgers.
The quarterback replied,
“Not as disappointed as the 49ers will be that they didn’t draft me.”
A young Rodgers had reasons to be upset over the Niners. Not only was Rodgers considered a top pick in the 2005 draft, he was a Niners fan while growing up in Chico, California.
He played for the California Golden Bears for two years. Hence, he was expecting a call from the Niners, but San Francisco had other plans as they drafted Smith.
In an interview with NFL HQ in April 2016, former Niners coach Mike Nolan said they had narrowed their choice to Aaron Rodgers, WR Braylon Edwards and Alex Smith.
Nolan said,
“The other thing as Alex at the time was a good kid -- a very good person, a safe choice, always trying to please. On the other hand, Aaron was very cocky, very confident, arrogant. So you can say, 'Why didn't you take him to begin with?' Because that's really what your best quarterbacks look like. They aren't very pleasing. They aren't very safe.”
At the time, former Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy served as the offensive coordinator of the Niners. Nolan later said that McCarthy’s assessment played a role in the decision to pick Smith.
Aaron Rodgers still bothered by Mike Nolan's decision
Although Aaron Rodgers started his career playing backup to NFL legend Brett Favre for three seasons, he was still angry at the Niners.
“That bothered me a lot,” Forbes reported Rodgers as saying in 2018.
While Alex Smith had a decent career, making the Pro Bowl selections on multiple occasions, Rodgers etched his name in the record books as one of the top passers of all time.