Even the most prized NFL Draft prospects have their share of detractors. Players undergo intense scrutiny until the minute the draft begins, and draft evaluators' worst takes annually make the rounds.
Aaron Rodgers isn't going to let anyone forget their unfortunate evaluations of him from 2005 — and there were quite a few. Rodgers ultimately slipped to the back half of the first round despite being rumored as an option for the 49ers at No. 1 overall.
Of course, he would prove critics wrong time and time again. Rodgers has won a Super Bowl and four MVP awards and earned himself a spot among the best quarterbacks to ever play the game.
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The journey might not be over for Rodgers just yet, but it's safe to say that none of these scouting reports turned out to be right.
Here are some of the worst Rodgers scouting reports, as told to longtime Packers reporter Bob McGinn before the 2005 draft.
Worst Aaron Rodgers scouting reports
There were concerns about Rodgers leading up to the 2005 draft, namely his hand size and his ability to thrive outside of his college system.
Rodgers played under Jeff Tedford at Cal after rising from the junior college ranks, and the NFL failures of the quarterbacks Tedford coached before Rodgers sparked questions about the system.
Kyle Boller turned in a breakout season when Tedford came to Cal in 2002 and made himself a first- round draft pick. Boller didn't show much promise with the Ravens in 2003 or 2004, combining for 20 touchdowns and 20 interceptions across those two seasons. Some evaluators feared Rodgers was a product of Tedford's system the same way they believed Boller was.
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Draft bust Joey Harrington thrived at Oregon when Tedford was his offensive coordinator. The struggles of Harrington and Boller in the NFL level scared off some evaluators.
An unnamed NFC scout was quoted as saying Rodgers "has a good chance of being a bust. Just like every other Tedford-coached quarterback."
"He doesn’t have great ability to change the release of the football. He’s mechanically very rigid," the scout continued, adding that Utah's Alex Smith would be "much better."
Smith was selected first overall by the 49ers, Rodgers' hometown team.
Former Bills scout Marc Ross had similar concerns. "He's a little short. The thing you worry about is those Tedford guys. They don't do anything for a couple years and then they have a good year or two," Ross said.
Rodgers is 6-2, which shows how much the view of quarterback height has changed over the past 18 years. Drew Brees and Russell Wilson have won Super Bowls at 6-0 and 5-11, respectively, since this draft. Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray were drafted first overall despite being much shorter than Rodgers.
An unnamed AFC scout supplied one of the harshest evaluations of Rodgers. "I don't like him. He's a clone of Harrington and Boller. They all throw the same way. What have those guys done? Nothing. If you take him in the second round, fine," the scout said.
Another unnamed scout said of Rodgers, "He's a system quarterback. (He's a) 3-, 5-, 7-step guy. Can't create on his own. Panics under pressure. Gets flustered easy."
Former Titans scout Rich Snead wondered whether Rodgers had room to grow as a player, saying, "I like him. I just don't know if he's maxed out."
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Rodgers read some of the negative scouting reports on "The Dan Patrick Show" in 2018, and he enjoyed every second of it.
While sitting behind Brett Favre for three seasons certainly didn't hurt, it's clear any and all concerns about Rodgers' ability to succeed outside of Tedford's system were well off the mark. Questions about his height look foolish in hindsight as quarterbacks 6-2 or shorter pour into the league.
Someone, somewhere will predict the worst for Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, Will Levis and all other quarterbacks in the 2023 NFL Draft, but Rodgers' case is a reminder that evaluations are just evaluations until the players actually take the field on Sundays.
