2005 Draft — Ten Years On...

Ten years ago today, QB Aaron Rodgers was drafted with the 24th pick of the 2005 First Round. Above, he meets the media a day later at Lambeau Field. We thought we’d go back and take a look at the teams who passed up the opportunity to draft a player who would win a Super Bowl (following the 2010 season), be named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player twice (2011 and 2014), be a four-time Pro Bowl selection (2009, 2011, 2012, and 2014), and a First Team All-Pro twice (2011 and 2014). Plus, he’s always referred to as one of the top QB’s in the league, and a future Hall of Famer. Now, here are the teams that didn’t think he was worth drafting:

   1 San Francisco 49ers — (QB Alex Smith)
   2 Miami Dolphins — (RB Ronnie Brown)
   3 Cleveland Browns — (WR Braylon Edwards)
   4 Chicago Bears — (RB Cedric Benson) 
   5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers — (RB Carnell "Cadillac" Williams)
   6 Tennessee Titans — (CB Adam "Pac-Man" Jones)
   7 Minnesota Vikings — (WR Troy Williamson) 
   8 Arizona Cardinals — (CB Antrel Rolle)
   9 Washington Redskins — (CB Carlos Rogers)
 10 Detroit Lions — (WR Mike Williams) 
 11 Dallas Cowboys — (LB DeMarcus Ware)
 12 San Diego Chargers — (LB Shawne Merriman)
 13 New Orleans Saints  — (OT Jammal Brown)
 14 Carolina Panthers — (LB Thomas Davis)
 15 Kansas City Chiefs — (LB Derrick Johnson)
 16 Houston Texans — (DT Travis Johnson)
 17 Cincinnati Bengals — (LB David Pollack)
 18 Minnesota Vikings — (DE Erasmus James) 
 19 St. Louis Rams — (OT Alex Barron)
 20 Dallas Cowboys — (DE Marcus Spears)
 21 Jacksonville Jaguars — (WR Matt Jones)
 22 Baltimore Ravens — (WR Mark Clayton)
 23 Oakland Raiders — (CB Fabian Washington)
 24 Green Bay Packers — (QB Aaron Rodgers) 

What a fun list, eh? This is what happens when you draft for perceived need rather than taking the Best Available Player (BAP), as the Packers do under the leadership of Ted Thompson. Look at our three division-mates... they picked some long-term successful players, didn’t they? Cedric Benson last played — ironically — for the Packers in 2012; Troy Williamson last played in 2009; Mike Williams last played in Canada in 2013; and Erasmus James disappeared to indoor football in 2011. Now, let’s win some more championships!