Josh Rosen is one of the best quarterback prospects in this year's NFL Draft, but he's been dragged through the never-ending draft evaluation process that consumes the NFL community from February to May. Everything -- from his millennial-ness to his un-flashy style of play -- has been called into question as quarterbacks like Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield, and Josh Allen have risen above him on most draft boards. As a result, Rosen is rumored to be the quarterback who'll experience a slide on draft night.
But if there ever was a quarterback designed to handle the unrelenting draft process, that quarterback is Josh Rosen.
During an interview with NFL Network's Andrew Siciliano on Tuesday, Rosen recounted all of times he's been overshadowed by other quarterbacks dating all the way back to high school. In an impressive response, he rattled off the list of quarterbacks the way Arya often recites her kill list.
"I've always been the No. 2 guy," Rosen said. "Coming out of high school, Ricky Town was the dude. He was going to SC, I was going to UCLA. He was No. 1 in the country, I was No. 2. He was going to bring USC back to the promised land. Blake Barnett, after Ricky kinda faded away a little, Blake Barnett was the Elite 11 MVP. He was the dude that going to go to 'Bama, win a couple of championships ... go to the league as a first-overall pick. You don't really hear about him too much. Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield, these dudes that are these exotic, cool, flashy quarterbacks -- that No. 1 pick, all this stuff, and I'm No. 2.
"You know what, I'm going to sit here. In a couple years, when it's all said and done, I'm confident that I'll still be standing. I think my game isn't very flashy, but the test of time for the position of quarterback is how fast can you get the ball out of your hands to the right guy? And I think I do that better than everyone else. I think some other guys might be a little better at throwing off schedule, because the idea is to not be off schedule."
So, basically this:
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Rosen also made an appearance on CBS Sports HQ where he explained to Bill Reiter that he's the best quarterback in the draft because he's the best at getting the ball out of his hands on schedule to his playmakers.
"In the media, the definition of 'quarterback' gets a little bit thrown and skewed a little bit," he said. "Social media evolution and revolution, a lot of people like seeing flashy things if they see guys run around and do crazy 360s and stuff like that. Quarterback, it's a boring monotonous position that revolves around consistency. I don't want to get good at throwing off schedule because I don't want to be off schedule. I want to have my protections to be solid, I want to be in the right play, and I want to get the ball out of my hands as quick as possible. Because regardless of how athletic any of these quarterbacks are in the draft, maybe with the exception of Lamar (Jackson), our skill positions are more athletic than us. Our receivers are faster and our running backs are better at running with the football. So, my job is to get the ball out of my hands as quick as possible to other positions that are more athletic than I am. And that's what they're paid to do.
"So I think I'm the best quarterback because by the definition of the job, I'm better at it. Some people might like seeing a little more from it, but that method has not stood the test of time. A lot of them have gone after it and a lot of them have failed. The ones that are still standing -- the Aaron Rodgers, the Tom Bradys, the Peyton Mannings, the Dan Marinos, the Joe Montanas, these dudes deliver the football and get it out of their hands quickly. And that's why I think I'm the best at that. And being that, I think I'm the best quarterback in the draft."
It's a fair point. Brady so rarely scrambles and manufactures an unreal play out of nothing not just because of his lack of athleticism, but because he so often gets the ball out his hands quickly on schedule. There's no need to create something from nothing if you execute the play as designed. There's no doubt that Mayfield is more athletic than Rosen. There's no doubt that Allen boasts a better arm than Rosen. But Rosen's point is that he doesn't need Mayfield's athleticism or Allen's arm talent so long as he's always staying on schedule.
It doesn't seem like the Cleveland Browns, who own the first-overall pick in the draft, agree, though. To this point, three quarterbacks have been repeatedly named as candidates to be the first player taken: Darnold, Allen, and Mayfield. Meanwhile, Rosen was named by NFL.com's Daniel Jeremiah as the quarterback most likely to slide in the draft, according to personnel executives.
The funny thing is, if Rosen does fall on draft night, he might actually wind up in a better situation than the other top quarterbacks. The Patriots, who entered the quarterback market after trading Brandin Cooks for an extra first-round pick, are reportedly interested in Rosen. If Rosen somehow lands in New England to be Tom Brady's successor, his already bright NFL outlook will look even more promising. That still seems like a far-fetched scenario considering all of the quarterback-needy teams positioned ahead of the Patriots in the draft order, but the only thing I could think about when I listened to Rosen describe a quarterback's job was Bill Belichick's motto: "Do your job." It seems like a perfect match.
Anyway, the NFL Draft will begin on Thursday night, which means this unending process is almost over, which means Rosen is only days away from beginning his new process of crossing a few more names off his list. Ricky Town and Blake Barnett were the first names to be erased. Are Darnold, Mayfield, and Allen next?
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