On April 23rd, 2005, Cal quarterback Aaron Rodgers slid to the 24th overall pick, where he was selected by the Green Bay Packers. Rodgers was expected to be a top selection, and even he believed that the San Francisco 49ers would select him with the 1st overall pick. Rodgers has even said that he felt the best about his interview with the 49ers compared to every other interview he had before the draft, thinking that "It was going to be a perfect fit, me and San Francisco, my childhood team, and I was going to be wearing the red and gold". Rodgers even asked them straight up what they were thinking about doing, and the Niners said they were thinking of selecting him. It was a shock to Rodgers then when the 49ers selected Utah quarterback Alex Smith 1st overall. He sat and watched as teams who he'd spoken to pass on him for players he didn't think were as good as he was. It also didn't help that many teams selecting ahead of Green Bay had quarterbacks with (relatively) high salaries already, and since rookie salaries weren't set like they were today, teams couldn't afford to sign a rookie star. Other teams simply didn't have a need at quarterback. In total, Rodgers waited for about five hours to hear his name called at the podium. An all-time draft slide, and arguably, an all-time draft steal.
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