“Just tell everybody you’re Alex Smith” – Aaron Rodgers got mercilessly roasted at 2018 NFL Honors

Aaron Rodgers grew up in California as a fan of the San Francisco 49ers, his hometown team. He spent his college football career with the Cal Golden Bears, remaining in his hometown area. He aspired to one day play quarterback for the 49ers. That childhood dream nearly came true in the 2005 NFL Draft.

After his outstanding college football career, Rodgers entered the draft as one of the top quarterback prospects. The 49ers owned the first overall pick that year, so everything may be aligning for Aaron Rodgers to get the opportunity to play for his favorite team. He reportedly believed that the 49ers would select him with their top overall pick, but he was wrong.

Instead, the 49ers decided to go with Alex Smith, the starting quarterback for the Utah Utes. Nobody was more surprised than Rodgers that the 49ers decided to go a different route. Rodgers then infamously fell all the way to the 24th overall pick, where he was selected by the Green Bay Packers to serve as a backup for Brett Favre initially.

This situation stuck with Aaron Rodgers for pretty much his entire NFL career. It was brought up again 13 years later during the 2018 NFL Honors show. The event was hosted by comedian Rob Riggle and took place in Minneapolis, the home of the Minnesota Vikings. Riggle addressed Rodgers during his opening monologue with this dig:

"Aaron, by the way, you should probably lay low while you're here in Minnesota, alright? Just tell everybody you're Alex Smith."

While it might have been entertaining to poke fun at the situation, Aaron Rodgers had the last laugh here. His career has far exceeded Alex Smith's by just about every possible measure. Rodgers may not have got what he wanted on draft day, but in the end, it's the 49ers that made an error by selecting Smith instead of Rodgers.

The 49ers passing on Aaron Rodgers for Alex Smith in the 2005 NFL Draft was a major mistake

2005 NFL Draft

Aaron Rodgers is one of the most successful quarterbacks in NFL history. He has been named the NFL MVP four times, the second most by any player ever, trailing only Peyton Manning. He has also won a Super Bowl ring during his time with the Packers, which has spanned nearly two decades. He will almost definitely be elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame after he eventually retires.

While Alex Smith has put together a solid NFL career, he is nowhere near the status Rodgers has achieved. Smith has never even come close to winning an NFL MVP award and has never even appeared in a Super Bowl as a starting quarterback.

Smith lasted just seven seasons with the 49ers before moving on to the Kansas City Chiefs and later the Washington Commanders. Passing on Rodgers was a major error by the 49ers.

---