The Aaron Rodgers Lesson: No Shame in Winston, Mariota Skipping the NFL Draft

Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers was sitting in front of a lectern, still dressed in his uniform pants and a T-shirt underneath the stands at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. There was a smile of contentment across his face as he enjoyed the aftermath of winning the Super Bowl against Pittsburgh. 

The moment in February 2011 was in complete juxtaposition to what we all remember six years prior. In 2005, Rodgers' face displayed nothing remotely close to satisfaction as he waded through the crowd at Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York.

If looks could kill, Rodgers would be serving time these days instead of being recognized as one of the NFL's best quarterbacks. He was going through NFL draft hell, a prisoner of the moment as more than four excruciating hours passed before he was selected at No. 24 overall by the Packers.

This year, the top two quarterbacks in the draft—Jameis Winston of Florida State and Marcus Mariota of Oregon—have decided to skip the event.

Winston told reporters after his pro day that he plans to stay at home in Alabama to be with his family. Sources have said the NFL actively discouraged him from attending the draft because of his issues from college. Among the issues is an accusation of sexual assault that was never filed because of a botched investigation.

Mariota is taking part in an event at his high school in Hawaii, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Some suspect he's not going because of fears of a Rodgers-like fall in the draft.

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

It's hard to blame them for skipping the event. For every Rodgers who finds success after public humiliation, there are many more who don't deal with the indignity very well. Brady Quinn suffered through a similar fall in 2007 and is now out of the NFL. Geno Smith had to wait an entire day (and buy a second suit) after not being picked in the first round.

It's all part of a process that many agents say should be carefully considered.

"Until your name is called, the draft is a miserable experience," said agent Mike McCartney, who is also a former NFL team personnel executive. "Every kid is nervous about that experience, wondering what's going to happen, if they're going to be picked. It's complete anxiety. You go from that to pure ecstasy when you're finally picked, no matter what round it is.

"To me, I'd rather do that in my living room at home rather than on national TV."

Agent Joby Branion said he lays down the scenario very clearly.

"I always explain very thoroughly what the experience can be like," Branion wrote via text. "I have never advised a client to attend who I wasn't personally convinced would go in the first (round), though. Even then, it can be intensely nerve-wracking. It feels like an eternity if you're not a top-10 pick."

Most of the athletes in this process have spent a lifetime being the first or second player selected in almost everything they do. Being ignored for 10 or 20 picks, let alone three or four rounds of picks, is a foreign concept.

And oftentimes, the blame gets sent elsewhere. Agents can be their own worst enemy in the process, touting that they can manipulate the draft process to get a player selected higher...even if that's a hollow promise.

Both Rodgers and Smith fired their agents after the draft. 

"Unless you absolutely know that your player is going to go in the top 10, don't send him," one agent said. "You have two things working against you: The player can't handle the embarrassment, and he will never believe it's his fault. Not that day. Not at that moment. It's all downside for the agent."

Players have attended the NFL draft going back to No. 1 pick Walt Patulski from Notre Dame in 1972. The practice became common in 1987 with No. 1 pick Vinny Testaverde, as the NFL actively began to invite players. Since then, almost all high picks have attended the draft, a notable exception being 2007 third overall pick Joe Thomas. He went fishing on Lake Michigan with his father.

More recently, as the NFL has stretched the draft into a three-day process and tried to promote it more on television, the league has tried to encourage more players to come. The problem is that inviting more players also invites the drama of those players falling.

Quinn dealt with that in 2007 after he was expected to go in the top 10. He instead fell to No. 22 as he sat and waited on camera.

Jason DeCrow/Associated Press

"Everyone wanted to make a big deal like it was a bad experience for me," Quinn said. "Quite honestly, it wasn't. For a lot of my family, it was the first time they were ever in New York, one of the greatest cities in the world. And my entire family was able to come out to New York, watch me get drafted and enjoy that experience. It was a life-changing experience for my family.

"Fact is, I would have been waiting regardless of where I was. So there was no better place than New York. It stunk (to wait), but the hard part is you're told so many things during the process and then you don't know what to believe. It's tough, but like I said, I would have been waiting anyways."

Winston figures to join Thomas in the high-pick no-show category this year. Every indication is that Tampa Bay will take him No. 1 overall, but Winston says he wants to be home because his grandmother is suffering from diabetes and can't travel to Chicago, where the draft will be held this year for the first time.

The fear among NFL executives is that Winston's litany of off-field issues will shine a negative light upon the league, particularly in the aftermath of incidents involving Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson and Greg Hardy. Even after Winston was accused of sexual assault, he was found shoplifting at a grocery store and screamed obscenities in the middle of the Florida State student union.

As for Mariota, upwards of eight teams (Tennessee Titans, Washington Redskins, New York Jets, Chicago Bears, St. Louis Rams, Cleveland Browns, San Diego Chargers and Philadelphia Eagles) have expressed strong interest in him, according to league sources. Some have toyed with the idea of trading up for him, and some have wondered what will happen if he slips past the top spots. In all likelihood, Mariota won't make it past the Jets at No. 6, but the same was believed to be true of Rodgers when he attended in 2005.

As pick after pick in the draft went by, Rodgers became a bigger and bigger story.

Rodgers couldn't leave for fear of teams thinking he was thin-skinned and unable to handle failure. He went through the options with then-agent Michael Sullivan and came to the conclusion that his pride would have to be sacrificed.

Rodgers would have to endure the humiliation of being the last man in the room at the draft in New York. Hour by stinking hour. The only break was a trip to the men's room in the middle of it.

Years later, the patience paid off.

"That moment still plays a lot in my focus," Rodgers said after being named the Most Valuable Player of the Super Bowl. "No question, I still think about that."

Could enduring a similar experience on draft day end up being good for Winston or Mariota? Possibly, but it's not a chance they're willing to take.

Jason Cole covers the NFL for Bleacher Report.