Aaron Rodgers tried to recruit Calvin Johnson to join the Packers

Aaron Rodgers wanted Calvin Johnson on the Packers, to no one’s surprise.

During Calvin Johnson‘s NFL career, he was an undeniable generational talent for the Detroit Lions, a rival of the Green Bay Packers out of the AFC North. And on his way to being one of the greatest wide receivers in league history, it feels save to say that every team would’ve liked to have Megatron on their team. But not as many voiced that quite like Aaron Rodgers, apparently.

On a new episode of Showtime’s “All the Smoke” with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, Johnson opened up about his decision to retire after just nine NFL seasons at only 30 years old. But what was more interesting was Megatron’s revelation that Rodgers would try to recruit the wide receiver to the Packers whenever the division rivals played.

Johnson said that Rodgers would tell him, “Hey man, you need to come on over here.” Johnson stated he would reply, “Hey, I wish I could.” Perhaps just as interestingly, Megatron stated that he might’ve played beyond the 2015 season had he been on a contending team, which is how the notion of being recruited to Green Bay came about in the conversation.

Calvin Johnson with Aaron Rodgers and the Packers is a great NFL ‘what if’.

In his nine NFL seasons, Calvin Johnson was arguably the most dominant force in the league at wide receiver. He missed only nine games over his career and put up 731 receptions for 11,619 yards and 83 touchdowns for his career.

And it’s no wonder that Aaron Rodgers wanted Megatron on the Packers given how he dismantled them throughout his career. In 16 career meetings with Green Bay, Johnson had 90 receptions for 1,409 yards and 15 touchdowns, the most scores he had against any single opponent in his illustrious career.

The notion of Johnson playing beyond the 2015 season is already a great “what if” scenario in league history as he retired still producing like one of the best in the league at his position. However, if he’d have hopped across the division to Green Bay, that would’ve been even more of a game-changer.

As has been brought up numerous times, the Packers have never drafted a first-round wide receiver since Rodgers arrived. Yes, they’ve had plenty of talented players but no one of Johnson’s talent and pedigree. You have to wonder if Green Bay and Rodgers would have added to Titletown’s trophy case had Johnson been in the mix.

Unfortunately, we’ll never know the answer to that. Nonetheless, it’s still fascinating to think about especially knowing that it’s clearly something that Rodgers wanted to happen and that he told Johnson as much.