What if ... the 49ers drafted Aaron Rodgers instead of Alex Smith in the 2005 NFL Draft?

Editor's note: Throughout the history of sports, there have been countless moments that have made us wonder how things would differ if just one circumstance or decision had been changed. "What if" is a series in which we will examine how the trajectory of several athletes and teams could have looked had major moments gone in a different direction. While it's impossible to predict how these outcomes would have played out, that doesn't make it any less fascinating to discuss.

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What if the 49ers drafted Aaron Rodgers instead of Alex Smith?

The 2005 NFL Draft was one of the most unforgettable in league history, with the image of Rodgers watching 23 players selected before him ingrained in most of our minds. Once both he and Smith declared for the draft in early January, it was a two-horse race to be the first quarterback taken all the way up until draft week. 

Smith was fresh off of an undefeated season with Utah, where he capped off a year in which he had 32 passing touchdowns and four interceptions with a 35-7 win against Pittsburgh in the Fiesta Bowl. Rodgers' stats weren't as impressive, but he led Cal to a 10-2 record in 2004 with signature games against Oregon and UCLA. Rodgers was also a native of Northern California, growing up a 49ers fan and playing his entire collegiate career there as well — spending a year at Butte College and two in Berkeley. 

Even when there were rumblings that Smith was San Francisco's preferred prospect, there were still so many teams ahead of Green Bay that needed a quarterback. In fact, when looking at the starters for some of these teams in the previous year, it’s jaw-dropping that Rodgers slid as far as he did. Check out some of