Here’s a great story from current Seattle Seahawks general manager and former Green Bay Packers personnel man John Schneider. He told Peter Schrager how Aaron Rodgers wasn’t even on the Packers’ minds until they saw a mock draft that had him falling down the board.
When Alex Smith went No. 1 to San Francisco in the 2005 NFL Draft, that’s exactly what happened. Once Rodgers passed a certain point and wasn’t chosen, he began a long slide because none of the teams choosing in the teens needed a quarterback.
“I think it was the Thursday before the draft started, Ted [Thompson] and I were sitting there watching film and we had a TV on and Mike Mayock was going through a mock draft.