GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – Back in 2005, the Packers already had the face of their franchise in Brett Favre. But, when the NFL draft rolled around, everything changed.
“Aaron (Rodgers) was supposed to go at the very top, but then he kept dropping and dropping and dropping,” said broadcaster and former Packers offensive lineman Larry McCarren. “Then the Packers were faced with a decision, ‘Do they need a quarterback? No’.”
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But Green Bay didn’t want to pass up on a player the organization believed had elite potential in the league. So, the Green and Gold took Rodgers with their first-round pick, a move that McCarren described as a “shock.”
Former Packers GM Ted Thompson elects to draft Rodgers in the first round in 2005
Three years later, despite Favre becoming the all-time winningest QB in NFL history and passing Dan Marino in career touchdown passes, the Packers informed the future hall-of-famer that they would be handing the keys of the franchise over to Rodgers.
After an offseason filled with drama and unknowns, Rodgers took over as Green Bay’s starting quarterback, winning four MVPs and a Super Bowl in 2010.
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However, when 2020 rolled around, the Packers made an eerily similar move in regards to ’05, taking Jordan Love in the first round while already having a Hall of Fame caliber QB at the helm. Love would go on to replace Rodgers three years after he was drafted, the same timeline that Rodgers faced before replacing Favre.
Check out the video above that walks you through two of the most shocking and consequential draft picks in Packers history, landing Green Bay a pair of players who became faces of the franchise, all the while replacing players who had donned that title for over a decade and a half prior.
