2005 NFL draft

---

title: "2005 NFL draft" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["nfl-draft", "2005-in-american-football", "2005-nfl-season", "2005-in-sports-in-new-york-city", "april-2005-sports-events-in-the-united-states", "american-football-in-new-york-city", "2000s-in-manhattan", "sporting-events-in-new-york-city", "sports-in-manhattan"] description: "70th annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible players" topic_path: "sports" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_NFL_draft" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary 70th annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible players ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox sports draft"]

Field	Value
name	2005 NFL draft
image	2005nfldraft.png
alt	2005 NFL draft logo
date	April 23–24, 2005
time	12:00 pm EDT (April 23)
11:00 am EDT (April 24)
location	Jacob K. Javits Convention Center
in New York City
network	ESPN, ESPN2
league	NFL
mr_irrelevant	Andy Stokes, TE
New England Patriots
first	Alex Smith, QB
San Francisco 49ers
fewnum	4
fewest	New York Giants
mostnum	12
most	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
overall	255
rounds	7
hofnum	{{ Collapsible list
title	1
1	LB DeMarcus Ware}}
prev	2004
next	2006
::

| name = 2005 NFL draft | logo = | logosize = | logoalt = | image = 2005nfldraft.png | imagesize = | alt = 2005 NFL draft logo | caption = | date = April 23–24, 2005 | time = 12:00 pm EDT (April 23) 11:00 am EDT (April 24) | location = Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City | network = ESPN, ESPN2 | sponsor = | league = NFL | mr_irrelevant = Andy Stokes, TE New England Patriots | first = Alex Smith, QB San Francisco 49ers | first_round = | fewnum = 4 | fewest = New York Giants | mostnum = 12 | most = Tampa Bay Buccaneers | overall = 255 | rounds = 7 | hofnum = {{ Collapsible list | title = 1 | 1 = LB DeMarcus Ware}}

| prev = 2004 | next = 2006 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 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.

The draft is best known for quarterback Aaron Rodgers falling to the 24th selection after being projected as one of the top picks. Rodgers believed he would be taken first overall by the San Francisco 49ers, but after the 49ers selected quarterback Alex Smith, Rodgers was passed on by teams with other positional needs until he was drafted by the Green Bay Packers. The fall drew retrospective scrutiny due to Rodgers developing a reputation as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time.

Compensatory selections were distributed among 14 teams, with the Philadelphia Eagles and St. Louis Rams garnering the most with four picks each. Three of the first five picks were running backs, an NFL draft first.

The league also held a supplemental draft in 2005 after the regular draft but before the regular season.

The 255 players chosen in the draft were composed of: ::data[format=table]

::

Player selections

::data[format=table]

‡	Hall of Fame]]r
::

| cellspacing="2"| |}

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Alex_Smith_-San_Francisco_vs_Green_Bay_2012(4).jpg" caption="Washington Redskins]]. He overcame a severe leg injury in his final season."] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Adam_Jones_(American_football).JPG" caption="Adam "Pacman" Jones]], taken sixth overall, enjoyed a long career despite several off-field incidents."] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/DeMarcus_Ware.JPG" caption="Linebacker [[DeMarcus Ware]], taken 11th overall, was a stalwart on the [[Dallas Cowboys]] defense before finishing his career with the [[Denver Broncos]]."] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/Shawne-Merriman_Chargers-vs-49ers_Sept_7_2009.jpg" caption="Linebacker [[Shawne Merriman]], taken 12th overall, was a three-time [[All-Pro]] and led the NFL in sacks in 2006."] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Aaron_Rodgers_drops_back_(cropped).jpg" caption="[[Aaron Rodgers]], taken 24th overall, went on to play 21 seasons in the NFL, 18 with the [[Green Bay Packers]]."] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/Roddy_White_2013.jpg" caption="Receiver [[Roddy White]], taken 27th overall, was a four-time [[Pro Bowler]] and holds many [[Atlanta Falcons]] receiving records."] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/Heath_Miller_in_2012.jpg" caption="Tight end [[Heath Miller]], taken 30th overall, won two Super Bowls with the [[Pittsburgh Steelers]] and was a fan favorite."] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Vincent_Jackson.JPG" caption="Receiver [[Vincent Jackson]], taken 61st overall in the second round, was a three-time Pro Bowler with the [[San Diego Chargers]] and [[Tampa Bay Buccaneers]]."] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Frank_Gore_-San_Francisco_vs_Green_Bay_2012(2).jpg" caption="NFL's all-time career rushing list."] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/Justin_tuck_2012.jpg" caption="Defensive end [[Justin Tuck]], drafted 74th overall in the third round, won two Super Bowls with the [[New York Giants]] and was a two-time [[All-Pro]]."] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Richie_Incognito_2015.jpg" caption="Guard [[Richie Incognito]], drafted 81st overall, is a four-time [[Pro Bowler]] but has also drawn controversy, including a bullying scandal in 2013."] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/Darren_Sproles.JPG" caption="Running back/kick returner [[Darren Sproles]], drafted in the fourth round, has the fifth-most career all-purpose yards in the NFL."] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Tampa_Bay_Buccaneers_visit_MacDill_(Image_1_of_3)_(cropped).jpg" caption="Quarterback [[Ryan Fitzpatrick]], drafted in the seventh round, started for an NFL record nine teams"] ::

Round two

--

Round three

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Round four

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Round five

--

Round six

--

Round seven

--

Supplemental draft selections

For each player selected in the supplemental draft, the drafting team forfeited its pick in that round in the regular draft of the following season.

Notable undrafted players

::data[format=table]

†	= Pro Bowler
::

Hall of Famers

• DeMarcus Ware, linebacker from Troy taken 11th overall by the Dallas Cowboys, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2023.

Trades

In the explanations below, (PD) indicates trades completed prior to the start of the draft while (D) denotes trades that took place during the draft.

;Round one

;Round two

;Round three

;Round four

;Round five

;Round six

;Round seven

References

General

Specific

References

1. . (October 2, 2014). ["NFL Draft Locations"](http://www.footballgeography.com/nfl-draft-sites/).
2. (October 2, 2014). "NFL Draft headed to Chicago in 2015". [[New York Giants]].
3. Banks, Don. (March 5, 2005). "NFL Draft moving to the Javits Center". The New York Times.
4. Currie, David. (April 27, 2017). "NFL Draft: Top 10 Moments – Aaron Rodgers falling to Tim Tebow trade".
5. Bensinger, Graham. (December 21, 2016). "In Depth with Graham Bensinger: Aaron Rodgers: Thought I'd be a 49er".
6. Clayton, John. (April 24, 2005). "Rodgers puts positive spin on humbling day". ESPN.
7. "2005 NFL Draft Listing".
8. (November 8, 2021). "The story of how Aaron Rodgers became the no. 24 pick in the 2005 NFL Draft".
9. (April 23, 2022). "NFL Draft biggest blunders: Fabian Washington over Aaron Rodgers and other terrible misses in recent history".
10. (April 30, 2021). "Remembering Aaron Rodgers' Classic Quote from 2005 NFL Draft".
11. (January 31, 2011). "Super Bowl 2011: Aaron Rodgers and the Top 25 Draft Day Steals in NFL History".
12. "NFL ANNOUNCES 32 COMPENSATORY DRAFT CHOICES TO 14 CLUBS". The Red Zone.
13. Jet. (May 16, 2005). "Nine Blacks chosen in top 10 in 2005 NFL Draft". Find Articles.
14. "NFL Draft Tracker: Denver Broncos, 1995 to 2008". FFToday.com.
15. Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro Bowl at any time in their career.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::