25 most sought after NFL quarterback draft prospects of all time
By Zach Bigalke
An even bigger counterfactual game than the Jameis Winston/Marcus Mariota debate fell in 2005, when the prevailing wisdom held Alex Smith and Aaron Rodgers as the top two quarterbacks entering the NFL Draft that spring.
Rodgers won the starting job at Cal out of junior college midway through his first season in Berkeley in 2003. As the full-time starter in 2004, Rodgers led the Golden Bears to a 10-1 regular season before losing in the Holiday Bowl to Texas Tech. The California native looked like a sure bet to land in the Bay Area with the 49ers.
But San Francisco opted instead for the non-AQ star out of Utah. Alex Smith made waves in the Mountain West, as he led Utah to the first-ever appearance in a BCS bowl game by a mid-major team.
The BCS Buster quarterback threw for 47 touchdowns against eight interceptions in two years as a starter under Urban Meyer. The 49ers opted for the slightly more accurate college passer of the two by taking Smith over Rodgers No. 1 overall.
Given what Rodgers has done with the Green Bay Packers during his NFL career vis-à-vis what Smith has accomplished, it feels like a missed opportunity for the 49ers in some ways. Smith, however, has been a serviceable quarterback throughout his NFL career.
At his zenith in San Francisco, Smith led the 49ers to an NFC West Championship and a 13-3 record in 2011. Eventually benched for Colin Kaepernick, Smith was eventually traded to Kansas City.
There he continued to progress as a quarterback, leading the Chiefs to three 11-win seasons and four playoff berths in five years. Traded to Washington in 2018, Smith remains one of the more reliable quarterbacks in the NFL in his mid-30s. However, a season-ending leg injury in 2018 with Washington has his NFL career in question. Will he make it back from such a gruesome injury?