The 2005 NFL draft, the 70th in league history, took place on April 23 and 24, 2005. The draft was held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City[1][2] and was televised for the 26th consecutive year, with coverage on ESPN and ESPN2. It was the first to be held at the Javits Center, as Madison Square Garden had been utilized for drafts since 1995.[3]
The draft is perhaps best known for quarterback Aaron Rodgers' slide to the 24th selection despite his projection as one of the top picks.[4] Rodgers believed that he would be taken first overall by the San Francisco 49ers, but after the 49ers selected quarterback Alex Smith, teams with other positional needs drafted other players until he was selected by the Green Bay Packers.[5][6][7] The fall has drawn retrospective scrutiny because of Smith's tumultuous time in San Francisco combined with Rodgers' comparatively much more fruitful tenure with Green Bay[8][9][10][11]