Though he retired two years ago, Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger still finds a way to make headlines. He’s been doing his own podcast for a while now, where his comments frequently generate significant reactions. That’s hardly surprising given that he had a strong tendency toward somewhat controversial remarks during his playing career. Including a streak of making things about himself.
Reflecting on his own draft experience with former teammate, QB Bruce Gradkowski, he said that rather than QB Aaron Rodgers, he was essentially the original poster boy for the draft-day slide. Roethlisberger ultimately fell out of the top 10 in the 2004 NFL Draft, but not far. The Steelers drafted him at 11.
“Everyone talks about Aaron. I think Aaron Rodgers dropped to like 13, somewhere in there”, he said on the Alpha 5 Method podcast. “They talk about him being in the green room waiting. Well, I was the original waiting-in-the-green-room type person because it took forever”.
He explained that he believed the New York Giants would draft him at four. They ultimately selected QB Philip Rivers before trading with the San Diego Chargers for QB Eli Manning. But he says people have since informed him the Giants were going to draft him if that trade fell through.
Roethlisberger acknowledged the Cleveland Browns as another potential option at six, adding he never expected the Steelers. He knew the Buffalo Bills at 13 presented one option, but the Steelers picked ahead of them.
“We were just kind of sitting, which is why there’s a famous clip in the green room”, he added. He noted his college coach threw a water bottle when they announced Rivers to the Giants at four. That is Terry Hoeppner, whom he said believed he had inside info about New York.
Rodgers, of course, slid much, much further than Roethlisberger. The Green Bay Packers selected him 24th overall, and there have been plenty of others since. QB Lamar Jackson slid all the way to 32 before the Baltimore Ravens drafted him.
My personal draft slide remains Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen, who fell to the middle of Round Two. His slide left draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. apoplectic—perhaps with good reason. After all, he said before the draft that he would retire in eight years if Clausen were not successful. He wasn’t, but unfortunately Kiper is still going.
Roethlisberger and his agent very much knew this possibility, however. NFL Films has video of Roethlisberger hearing this explanation before the draft. His agent made it very clear the Giants might draft Rivers if they could trade for Manning. Click through above to watch the video, a short documentary of the 2004 NFL Draft, since they don’t allow embedding.
Both Manning and Roethlisberger brought multiple Super Bowls to their teams and left a lasting legacy. Rodgers won a Super Bowl for the Packers, as well, so the slide wasn’t deleterious to their careers. While Roethlisberger’s drop was not as dramatic, though, when you relive it, and relative to expectations, it was clearly significant.
