Steelers Now
The Pittsburgh Steelers were very close to having quarterback Aaron Rodgers at the start of his NFL career.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are feeling very lucky to have Aaron Rodgers as their starting quarterback for the 2025 season. However, they thought they were going to get lucky enough to land the four-time NFL MVP 20 years ago.
Former Steelers personnel executive Doug Whaley recently revealed that Rodgers was very much on their radar during the 2005 NFL Draft as he continued to slip down the board.
“We wouldn’t have had to (trade up),” Whaley said on Pittsburgh’s 93.7 The Fan. “We would’ve just sat there. We had him higher than that. We were surprised he was slipping.”
Rodgers was eventually selected with the No. 24 overall pick by the Green Bay Packers, who he would go on to play 18 seasons with. It was just six selections ahead of Pittsburgh, which ultimately used the No. 30 overall pick on tight end Heath Miller.
However, everything worked out as the Steelers already got lucky in the previous draft, landing franchise quarterback Ben Roethlisberger with the No. 11 overall pick.
Whaley was shocked to see Roethlisberger fall as far as he did, too.
“Then when the Browns took (Kellen) Winslow, we all were like, ‘Wait a minute,'” Whaley said. “Seriously, I remember looking around the room saying, ‘Where are the cameras? Is this one of those jokes?’ We couldn’t believe Ben fell to us.”
It’s unlikely Pittsburgh ever imagined it would be able to say both Roethlisberger and Rodgers would suit up in the black and gold, but that’s exactly how things have played out.
Roethlisberger helped deliver two championships to the Steelers. Now, Rodgers will try to win his second and what would be a league-leading seven for Pittsburgh in 2025.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Former Exec Reveals Steelers Almost Landed Aaron Rodgers 20 Years Ago
