Cal's Rogers falls to the Packers at No. 24 in the first round

NEW YORK -- After a week of trade rumors and intrigue, the only drama in this NFL draft was the long wait for Aaron Rodgers.

With the top players considered relatively equal, quarterback Alex Smith went first to San Francisco and the other dominoes followed more or less as expected.

But Rodgers, the Cal quarterback who the 49ers had considered at No. 1, fell most of the way through the first round until he was taken 24th overall by Green Bay to the cheers of fans at the draft. He will be groomed to succeed Brett Favre, who will turn 36 in October.

"I had already prepared myself for things not going my way," said Rodgers. "Things get a little screwy on draft day. We all know that."

The top nine included three running backs, three cornerbacks and three players from Auburn with quarterback Jason Campbell, taken by Washington with the 25th pick, the fourth Tiger taken. The three early Auburn guys were running backs Ronnie Brown, second overall to Miami, and Carnell Williams, fifth to Tampa Bay, and cornerback Carlos Rogers, who the Redskins settled for at nine.