Aaron Rodgers has thrown a lot of touchdowns, but one he threw on Thursday night was his most absurd yet.
Rodgers finally threw a touchdown pass to touted wide receiver Garrett Wilson. The former Ohio State superstar has been hailed as one of the league’s brightest talents. But since Rodgers got hurt in his first series with the New York Jets last year and missed the season, that connection never prospered.
Two games into the year, Wilson was still silenced. But no longer. Rodgers found the former Buckeye star for a touchdown in the second half.
8️⃣ to 5️⃣
Garrett Wilson grabs his first TD from Aaron Rodgers!#NEvsNYJ on Prime Video
Also streaming on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/FD2MMsD6pY— NFL (@NFL) September 20, 2024
But even the expected can result in the unexpected. Believe it or not, that was a history-making touchdown for Rodgers. The surefire Hall of Famer has thrown hundreds of touchdowns. But that one Thursday night was a unique touchdown. For the first time in his celebrated career, Rodgers tossed a touchdown pass to a first-round pick.
“Aaron Rodgers’ touchdown pass to Garrett Wilson was the 480th of his career and the 1st caught by a wide receiver that was selectioned in the 1st round of the NFL draft,” Jets reporter Rich Cimini posted on X.
Aaron Rodgers’ touchdown pass to Garrett Wilson was the 480th of his career and the 1st caught by a wide receiver that was selected in the 1st round of the NFL draft. #Jets
— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) September 20, 2024
No seriously. Rodgers never did that in Green Bay. The Packers never had a philosophy that led to them drafting first-round skill position players. They often spent picks on linemen on both sides of the ball or other defensive players. But never a first-round pick. It often seemed like one would help them, but they instead opted to find late-round picks at wide receiver and tight end. Rodgers’ most prolific touchdown scorers in Green Bay were Davante Adams and Jordy Nelson, two second-round picks. Green Bay’s most prolific first-round pickw as Sterling Sharpe, who played from 1988 to 1994.
Needless to say, it’s been a wild career for Aaron Rodgers, who’s still making history in 2024.
About Chris Novak
Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022