Exposing Myself On My Biggest NFL Draft Whiffs: Josh Rosen

Exposing Myself On My Biggest NFL Draft Whiffs: Josh Rosen

Admitting when you’re wrong is what gives you credibility. You will notice that other NFL Draft “experts” are never willing to do what I’m willing to do. Trey is right 99% of the time but once in a while, I have to put my hand up in the air and admit I was wrong. It’s time to do that with Josh Rosen.

If you refer back to my quarterback rankings from 2018, I make it pretty evident that Sam Darnold and Josh Allen were the two guys I believed in the most. Prior to the draft, I put my stamp of approval for drafting both. Obviously, Allen has since become generational. I’m still convinced Darnold would be viewed differently if he were never drafted by the Jets and his past year in Minnesota probably proves that. Either way, I made it clear both of those guys were my guys that year.

Then there was Rosen who I saw as the third guy. It just made too much sense. It felt like he was Eli Manning’s long-lost cousin. All of his movement skills matched that. Rosen was viewed as a smart player who came from an athletic family. He was also on the national radar right away after a lights out freshman season. Jim Mora was very much correct when he said Rosen would have been the first overall pick in 2016 if he were eligible. There’s really no question about it.

The problem is, Rosen never got better after his freshman year. If anything, he got worse and I think that’s the real lesson to be learned here. He was the opposite of Ladd McConkey. The opposite of CJ Stroud, who kept getting better at Ohio State. One thing I don’t have access to right now is the ability to interview these guys during the Combine. When you really look back on Rosen’s NFL Draft speech after being picked, we all should have known he was going to suck. It’s pretty obvious now Rosen was sour grapes in the head and didn’t work out because of it.

Still, a miss is a miss. I shouldn’t have ranked him ahead of Baker Mayfield or Lamar Jackson. Both of whom got better and better as their college careers transpired. If there is a lesson to be learned from Rosen, it’s that growth in college is important. Is the player improving or are they content being good enough? Did Rosen love football or did his talent get him by in college? It’s something I need to be mindful of for the draft in the years to come.

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