Green Bay Packers: Top 30 moments in franchise history

10. Aaron Rodgers Falls to 24th

It seemed like the perfect fit.

With the first overall pick in the 2005 draft, the San Francisco 49ers had to select Aaron Rodgers right? Rodgers was a native of Chico, Calif., and played at UC Berkley. More importantly, he grew up a San Francisco 49ers fan.

Wrong.

The 49ers went a different direction and selected , leaving Rodgers to wait for hours, until the Green Bay Packers called his name with the 24th overall selection.

It seemed unreasonable that Rodgers would fall that far, and that nobody would take him; but due to salary cap restrictions and talent at other positions on the board, teams passed on Rodgers.

Even at 24th overall, it didn’t seem the Packers needed to make their first overall selection a quarterback, but general manager Ted Thompson had a plan, as he always does.

"“Three or four days before the [2005] draft,” Thompson says, “we’re doing our research, going down the board, and I’m looking, and I think, ‘None of these teams are taking a quarterback.’ I couldn’t find one, after San Francisco. We hadn’t really paid attention to Rodgers because we just figured he’d be gone. Plus, we didn’t have that big a need there, obviously. So I just buried myself and went to look at all the Rodgers tape — from games, from the combine, from his pro day. After a couple of days I just felt he was too good to pass. So I said, ‘If he falls to us, we’re taking him.'”"

Louis H. Rivard photograph

We all know of Rodgers’ accolades and what he’s done in Green Bay. He was the Super Bowl MVP in 2011, and is consistently talked about as being the best in the league, and the greatest of all time, talent wise.

I’m not sure what the Packers’ quarterback situation would be today if Rodgers hadn’t fallen to 24th overall in 2005 … but let’s thank God he did.

Next: #9