Aaron Rodgers

Super Bowl LI: Alex Smith vs Aaron Rodgers? A 49ers embarrassment

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 4:21 p.m. ET

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Fansided, Douglas Totten/FanSided via Niner Noise

On April 23, 2005 the San Francisco 49ers selected Alex Smith first overall, while California native Aaron Rodgers fell to the Green Bay Packers. Over a decade later, both quarterbacks are on track for a Super Bowl push, while the 49ers have fallen to the bottom of the NFL.

The 2005 NFL Draft will remain infamous for the fall of future Hall-of-Famer Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers and Alex Smith were the two candidates for the San Francisco 49ers, as the once-proud franchise held the first overall pick and was in need of a quarterback. The 49ers chose Smith. Rodgers, meanwhile, dropped to 24th overall and the Green Bay Packers, where he sat for three years behind Favre.

While Smith struggled in San Francisco — largely due to a lack in personnel, at least in this writer’s opinion — Rodgers eventually blossomed into arguably the league’s best quarterback. No one would argue the same for Smith, but few would now rank Colin Kaepernick ahead of the former 49ers quarterback.

This makes the potential Chiefs-Packers Super Bowl matchup all the more painful for 49ers fans. It would pit the quarterback they passed over (Rodgers) against the quarterback they kicked to the curb (Smith). The 49ers went to the NFC Championship Game the year after they traded Smith to Kansas City, but have done absolutely nothing sense. It goes without saying that Smith would have been far preferable to Kaepernick or Blaine Gabbert this year.

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So while 49ers fans continue to pour over the latest news and rumors surrounding who may — or may not — be the fourth 49ers head coach in four years, two quarterbacks the 49ers could have had under center are leading teams deep into the playoffs.

As painful as breakups can be, even years later, this one hurts even more. We will always wonder what could have been.

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Aaron Rodgers

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