Smith details the pressures of being the 49ers’ No. 1 pick originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area
Former 49ers quarterback Alex Smith entered the NFL with the weight of the world on his shoulders, an experience he recounted while addressing the crowd during Thursday’s game. Dwight Clark’s Legacy series event at the California Theater in San Jose.
San Francisco selected Smith No. 1 overall in the 2005 NFL Draft, with San Francisco counting on the Utah product to resurrect a once-proud franchise amid rapid decline. Smith detailed how much pressure came with not only being the No. 1 overall pick but also following in the footsteps of two Hall of Fame quarterbacks.
“It was unique… there had never been a franchise that had a Joe [Montana] and Steve [Young]like it never happened,” Smith explained. “Jeff [Garcia] set the franchise record for yards, so he continued. And all of a sudden, being the No. 1 pick, and at 20, those were things I never dealt with. I was offered a scholarship to college. I went unnoticed all my life and now, suddenly, [there were] huge expectations placed on me.”
Smith revealed how much pressure he put on himself in trying to live up to the legendary quarterbacks who preceded him in San Francisco.
“I felt like it should be Joe Montana, Steve Young and Peyton Manning as the No. 1 pick for the San Francisco 49ers,” Smith detailed. “It was a lot. I felt like I had to be perfect. I struggled with that in the first few years, going into the field on eggshells. Trying not to make mistakes. I managed to be perfect, it was every day in training, in the meeting rooms, kind of became my worst enemy.
“As anyone can imagine, you try to do anything, let alone play quarterback as a rookie, that is certainly a recipe for disaster. veteran quarterback from the beginning, so there wasn’t necessarily that resource there. I struggled with this for several years before I found a way out thanks to some teammates and coaches.
Although the first few years of Smith’s tenure in San Francisco were marked by many obstacles, the veteran quarterback finally turned the corner and helped lead the 49ers to an unforgettable victory in the playoffs over the New Orleans Saints in the 2011 NFL postseason.
Smith ended up carving out an impressive career ultimately, logging 167 starts in 14 NFL seasons. The veteran quarterback posted the best stretch of his career after the 49ers traded him to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2013, earning three Pro Bowl nods during his tenure there.
