San Francisco 49ers: 20 worst NFL Draft picks in franchise history
By Peter Panacy
No. 20: Quarterback Alex Smith
Drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the first round (1st overall) of the 2005 NFL Draft
OK, so quarterback Alex Smith doesn’t necessarily meet all the criteria on our list. He did wind up having a solid career with the 49ers, and afterwards with the Kansas City Chiefs after the 2011 season.
The problem was it took over five years to reach that point, which is why he lands at No. 20 on Niner Noise’s list of all-time worst draft picks by San Francisco.
Coming off a 2-14 season in 2004, the Niners selected Smith with the first-overall pick of the 2005 NFL Draft. Then-head coach Mike Nolan elected to pass on Cal quarterback Aaron Rodgers and felt Smith would be the better fit.
Smith’s first season with the 49ers was a disaster as he threw just one touchdown against 11 interceptions and finished his rookie year with an abysmal 40.8 passer rating. The quarterback then suffered through a carousel of offensive coordinators as well as injuries — all the while being rotated with other 49ers signal-callers like Ken Dorsey and Tim Rattay.
Eventually, Smith found success in San Francisco once head coach Jim Harbaugh took over the team in 2011. But the former first-round pick didn’t exactly live up to any expectations for his first five years with the team.
Not exactly how one would hope a first-overall pick would go.