Behind-the-Scenes Stories Emerge on Aaron Rodgers' Infamous 2005 Draft Slide

The draft day story of New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers will forever be told.

A highly touted prospect out of the University of California, many analysts predicted that he would be selected as the first overall pick by the San Francisco 49ers, who badly needed a quarterback, in the 2005 NFL Draft. It would be a fairytale story since the 49ers were Rodgers' favorite team growing up.

But in a surprising turn of events, Rodgers slid down to the 24th overall pick. He was chosen by the Green Bay Packers, who already had star signal-caller Brett Favre. The 49ers opted for Utah quarterback Alex Smith with the top overall selection.

A new autobiography about Rodgers, "Out of the Darkness: The Mystery of Aaron Rodgers," written by Ian O'Conner, revealed behind-the-scenes anecdotes about the quarterback's infamous draft day freefall.

NFL analyst Danny Florio shared some of them after reading an excerpt from the book.

"(NFL scout Gil) Brandt was c onvinced he (Rodgers) was going earlier, (otherwise they) wouldn't have invited him," said Florio on NBC Sports' "Pro Football Talk" on Monday.

"Brandt was apologizing to Rodgers for inviting him. 'This is going to be a long day. It's going to be a long day. I can't find anybody (who'll take you).'"

Only six aspirants were invited to attend the 2005 NFL Draft, namely Rodgers, Smith, Auburn's Ronnie Brown, Michigan's Braylon Edwards, Texas' Cedric Benson and Miami's Antrel Rolle.

As Rodgers watched them get picked one by one, his wait in the green room became more excruciating. Moreover, when he was finally selected by the Packers, the team's fans were mad.

"They booed so loudly," Florio said. "We're having a fan event at Lambeau Field, and they booed so loudly, it was shaking the room upstairs where the front office was after they just made the pick."

Rodgers, however, proved everyone wrong. Once he took over from Favre in 2008, he led the Packers to a Super Bowl title and earned four MVP awards and 10 Pro Bowl nods.

Now, he's trying to lead the Jets back to prominence after spending 18 years in Green Bay.

Related: Aaron Rodgers Gets Brutally Honest About Playing In The Preseason