Aaron Rodgers is widely considered one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history. He has thrown for 62,952 yards, 503 touchdowns and 116 interceptions while completing 65.1% of his pass attempts and adding 3,573 rushing yards and 35 touchdowns on 741 carries.
Much of his success came during his 18-year stretch with the Green Bay Packers, who selected him 24th overall in the 2005 NFL Draft. Rodgers won four NFL MVPs with the franchise while helping lead them to a title in Super Bowl XLV, where he was also named MVP. He also earned 10 Pro Bowl nods and five All-Pro selections – four of which he was named to the first-team.
Despite all of his success with Green Bay, the front office never selected a wide receiver in the first round of his tenure. After they broke the lengthy stretch, Rodgers shared his thoughts.
Aaron Rodgers Weighs In On Packers Drafting a WR In First Round
The Packers faced plenty of criticism during Rodgers’ tenure for their failure to draft a wide receiver in the first round. Green Bay had not selected a pass catcher in the opening round of the NFL Draft since 2002, when they selected Javon Walker 20th overall. They ended a 23-year stretch of not doing so when they used the 23rd overall pick this year to select Matthew Golden.
The four-time NFL MVP recently shared his thoughts on the selection. Speaking on “Mia’s Brothers On The Hot Seat: Mike & Aaron Rodgers” in Austin, Texas, he was asked about the pick, responding:
“Well, in my 18 years there, we picked three, four offensive players in the first round. I’m counting myself in ’05. 2010, we picked Brian Bulaga, who played a big role for us at right tackle. 2011, we picked Derek Sherrod, who got banged up and never really played. And in 2020, we picked [Jordan] Love.
“The other years, we spent on defense. I didn’t throw a touchdown to a first-round pick until ‘Big Dog’ Marcedes Lewis, who obviously wasn’t drafted by us – he was drafted by Jacksonville. But people maybe forget how many great second-round receivers that we had, which I can name – second and third round.
“Greg Jennings, we had in [2006]. We had James Jones in [2007], he was third round. Jordy Nelson, top of the second round in 2008… Davante Adams, 2014. So, we picked a lot of great players in the second round that I would say really panned out.”
Green Bay selected seven wide receivers in the second round in the 23 years before finally picking one in the first round. They also drafted three pass catchers in the third round during that span.
Surprisingly, Rodgers did not throw a touchdown pass to a first-round wide receiver during his entire tenure with the Packers. In fact, he did not attempt a pass to a first-round wide receiver from the time he became a starter in 2008 until late in the 2020 season.