Although Baker Mayfield going first overall in the 2018 NFL Draft to the Cleveland Browns became less and less of a surprise as the draft got closer, ultimately the first round proved to be one of the more surprising opening sessions of the draft in recent memory. UCLA product Josh Rosen was among those players who had been talked about being selected in that top spot. Rosen ended up being taken tenth overall by the Arizona Cardinals and was not happy about it.
In the aftermath of his name being called, Rosen used words like “really angry” and “pissed” in reference to not going off the board first. He summed up his frustration by vowing to seek revenge on teams that picked one through nine. “They made nine mistakes ahead of me, and I couldn’t be more excited to prove them all wrong.” the quarterback opined.
Motivated beyond words…let’s go win championships, @AZCardinals. #BeRedSeeRed
— Josh Rosen (@josh3rosen) April 27, 2018
Josh Rosen was the fourth quarterback to go in the draft. Mayfield, Sam Darnold (third to the New York Jets), and Josh Allen (seventh to the Buffalo Bills) were taken ahead of Rosen.
Though each team in the top ten may have had different reasons for passing on him, speculation was that NFL teams had questions about Rosen that ranged from the obvious – he missed time at UCLA due to a couple different injuries – to the more obscure, as some teams were said to have questioned his commitment to the game of football and worried he may lose interest or not be fully motivated to reach his potential.
When he was healthy, Rosen left little questions as to what he’s capable of on the football field. In 30 games as a Bruin, he completed 60.9% of his passes and accumulated 9,340 yards. He also held a 59-26 touchdown-to-interception ratio over that span.
In regards to the Cardinals, they have veterans Sam Bradford and Mike Glennon under contract, so if Rosen were to start Week 1, he’s going to have some competition.
