Aaron Rodgers relived the experience of watching the Packers draft his successor.
During the 2020 NFL Draft, which was held virtually during the beginning of the COVID pandemic, Green Bay traded up to select Jordan Love 26th overall in the first round.
In the Netflix documentary “Aaron Rodgers: Enigma,” which debuts on Tuesday, Rodgers looked back on what his perspective was at the time.
“I looked down at my phone and my agent just texted me: ‘Quarterback.’ And I was like, ‘No f–king way,’” Rodgers said in the documentary.
“Then the pick happens, and I immediately got off the couch and was super non-reactive. And I just went to pour myself some tequila and went back to the couch and knew there was going to be some interesting conversations.”
Rodgers had appeared live on “The Pat McAfee Show” earlier in the first round and had endorsed the idea of drafting a wide receiver.
“Yeah, we haven’t picked a skill position player in the first round in 15 years so that would be kind of cool,” Rodgers said in a response to his former teammate, A.J. Hawk, asking if he’d like a wideout.
The Love selection was something of a full-circle moment for Rodgers, who was picked 24th overall in the 2005 NFL Draft as the heir apparent to Brett Favre.
Favre famously said that it wasn’t his job to mentor Rodgers.
Rodgers sat behind Favre for three years before Favre retired following his devastating interception to Giants defensive back Corey Webster in the 2007-08 NFC title game.
When Favre un-retired later in the offseason, then-Packers coach Mike McCarthy and general manager Ted Thompson opted to proceed with Rodgers and trade Favre to the Jets.
Years later, the two iconic former Packers quarterbacks repaired what had been a frosty relationship.
“It was important to move forward past a lot of that stuff,” Rodgers said.
“With time, it gives you perspective to look at things a little differently. Take the ego out of it, be empathetic. Go in the other person’s experience. And then I obviously got to undergo that experience a little bit in 2020 and feel what that felt like.”
Remembering the experience, Rodgers ultimately committed to getting off on a better foot with Love, who became the Packers’ starter after the franchise worked with Rodgers on a trade — once again to the Jets — in the 2023 offseason.
“Enigma” was produced by Religion of Sports with additional work from Skydance Sports and NFL Films.
