The 2005 NFL Draft. Yes, I took it back 16 years. Alex Smith was labeled the best player in the draft class due to his success at the collegiate level. He played his college ball for the Utah Utes under Urban Meyer. With the first overall pick, the San Francisco 49ers drafted the quarterback. The 49ers were looking for that franchise quarterback and they hoped it would be him. He would end up having the best year of his career in 2011 under Jim Harbaugh. After suffering a concussion in 2012, the 49ers started Colin Kaepernick and didn’t look back. The following year in 2013, the Chiefs acquired the quarterback. After five seasons in Kansas City, he was traded again to the Washington Football Team. After 16 years of NFL service, Alex has decided to call it a career and retire today.
He was never the flashiest quarterback nor did he try to do much. What I always appreciated about Alex was he stayed within his box at all times. The game manager title may be accurate when breaking him down, but he made plays when needed. Alex always took care of the football. You never saw him force the ball down the field and if something he wanted was well defended, he always made his reads and ran the ball himself for some additional yards. That’s the one thing defenders underestimated about him was his mobility. He always found a way to move around. When you talk about quarterbacks in this day and age, you often hear about them throwing the ball at least 40 times a game. That was never Alex Smith. He knew he could get away with throwing the ball maybe 30 times at the most. All his teams needed him to do was control the game and most importantly, not lose the football game. Many thought he didn’t like taking chances or shots down the field. Remember, he was throwing the football to Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce at one point before Patrick Mahomes became the starter. Alex had no problem with stretching the field.
I still remember that gruesome leg injury on November 18th, 2018 against the Houston Texans. As many others did, I thought he was done as if he wouldn’t play again. Coincidentally, the injury took place on the anniversary of Joe Theismann’s gruesome leg injury. He missed the entire 2019 season. Throughout his rehab, Alex ended up having a total of 18 surgeries to save his leg. Doctors cleared him to resume football activities. In week five of the 2020 season, Alex stepped on the field for the first time since that game in 2018. The Washington Football Team won the NFC East with number 11 under center. He won Comeback Player of the Year for his efforts in 2020. What a story he was last season. He always played the game with class. I wish him the best in his future endeavors.
