UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen came to the Bruins with a ton of hype and enters the NFL Draft with even more as the best pure passer available.
It was five years ago when I first saw tape of Josh Rosen. He was a junior at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, Calif. He led his team to an undefeated season and a mythical national championship. Rosen threw for 3,200 yards and 39 touchdowns and looked poised to be the next big thing at the college level.
Rosen arrived at UCLA after every coach in America wanted him to lead their offense. He was the top quarterback recruit and one of the top overall recruits in the nation. Big things were expected of him at UCLA. He started from Day 1 but Rosen was hamstrung by terrible coaching from Jim Mora and his staff and battled some injuries, including a concussion that kept him out of the team’s bowl game his junior year.
When he was healthy, Rosen put up huge numbers and showed off the prized arm talent that made him such an attractive recruit. Five years from the time I first heard of Rosen, he’s now getting ready for the NFL Draft. Some things never change, because the prized arm talent is now what’s making him an attractive NFL Draft prospect.
Josh Rosen, Quarterback, UCLA
Rosen is the most polished passer in the draft with perhaps the highest ceiling. The former top recruit didn’t have the college career he or UCLA fans envisioned, but he’ll be a much better pro than he was a college player.
He has ideal size for the position at 6’4″ and 225 pounds and does everything very well. He has clean feet, flawless mechanics, makes all the throws and is extremely smart.
His brain has been perceived as a criticism in the pre-draft process, including from his former college coach who said he’s a Millennial who needs to know “why” and be stimulated intellectually. That’s not a bad thing. If a coach can’t do that, that says more about the shortcomings of the coach than the eagerness of the player to understand the system. You see what I mean when I say Rosen was plagued by poor coaching at UCLA?
I think that criticism has been largely overblown and is one of the most non-sensical storylines from the pre-draft circus. However, I am somewhat concerned about his durability and his concussion history. You can’t predict injury, of course, and any player can suffer a devastating injury on any play, so it’s not anything that’s going to give me pause if I’m picking at the top of the draft.
Bottom line, I think Rosen will be a popular pick to win the Rookie of the Year behind Saquon Barkley and will start right away as a rookie. I think Rosen has a chance to have a career similar in success and longevity to Carson Palmer.