However, there are some critical differences between the two choices. In 2005, Rodgers was a top-notch prospect some thought could be the no. 1 pick in the draft who inexplicably fell to the Packers late in the first round. This time around, the Packers traded up to snag one of the shakiest quarterbacks in the draft. Love checked in at no. 32 on Danny Kelly’s Big Board after a junior season in which he led all FBS quarterbacks with 17 interceptions despite the modest quality of play in the Mountain West conference; Rodgers threw only a total 13 interceptions in his two seasons at Cal. I don’t get why the Packers needed to trade up—they had the 30th pick, but gave up a fourth-rounder to bypass the Dolphins (who had already drafted Tagovailoa), the Seahawks (who have Russell Wilson), the Ravens (who have reigning MVP Lamar Jackson), and the Titans (who just gave a huge extension to Ryan Tannehill).
The choice is made stranger by the fact that the Packers are essentially incapable of moving on from Rodgers until 2022. He has at least $30 million cap hits in each of the next two seasons, and Green Bay would have to eat that cap space if it traded or cut him. It’s also worth noting that Aaron Rodgers is one of the league’s premier grudge-holders. Hopefully he’s on board with the team’s decision to draft his successor!
The Packers had a chance to improve their roster in the waning years of Rodgers’s career; instead they gave up assets to make a questionable choice about his eventual replacement, knowing he likely won’t play for at least two seasons. They tried to re-create the magic of the Rodgers pick, but seem to have ignored all the reasons the Rodgers pick was impossible to re-create.
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