Josh Rosen, UCLA QB, 6’4″ 218lbs
The third QB in the installment is UCLA QB, Josh Rosen. Rosen took the world by storm as a true Freshman. Starting his first game against Virginia, Rosen was 28-35 (80% completion rate) with 3 TDs and 0 INTs. The Bruins won their first four games and then they hit Pac-12 conference play and they struggled. UCLA proceeded to lose five of their last nine ballgames to finish the season 8-5 with a bowl loss to Nebraska. In his Sophomore year, Rosen only played six games due to injury. It showed as UCLA finished the season 4-8 and 2-7 in a weak Pac-12 Conference. His Junior year, Rosen was healthy and UCLA should have been prepped for a great run in the Pac-12. Rosen finished with essentially the same numbers as he had as a Freshman. UCLA also finished with a worse record, as they were 6-5 and 4-4 in the Pac-12 South. The Pac-12 wasn’t extremely strong throughout Rosen’s years at UCLA, therefore his paltry record with the Bruins is a red flag for sure. It seems that Rosen’s career peaked in the first game of his college career and never reached that high water mark again.
His college coach Jim Mora, who was fired from UCLA this winter, said that Rosen needs to be “Challenged Intellectually.” Mora attributed this to him being a millennial. Mora also said on NFL Network that he would take Sam Darnold, the quarterback at archrival USC, over Rosen in the draft “because of fit,” describing Darnold as having a “blue-collar, gritty” attitude. He later backtracked on his statement, clarifying what he meant when being interviewed by MMQB’s Peter King by saying “Josh, I think, without a doubt, is the number one quarterback in the draft,” Mora said. “He’s a franchise-changer. He’s got the ability to have an immediate impact. His arm talent, intelligence and his ability to see the game and diagnose the game are rare. He’d come to the sidelines after a play, and it was uncanny — he could right away say exactly why he made every decision.”
It’s another red flag whenever the guy who recruited you and worked with you for three years is not shouting from the mountain tops that you should be drafted. History has proven that the College Coach knows best, for example, Pete Carroll, then of USC said that Mark Sanchez wasn’t ready to go pro and he proved to be correct. Same with Notre Dame Head Coach Brian Kelly when he was asked about Deshone Kizer. Both were lambasted in the media and both were proven correct. When the college coach speaks about their QB, everyone should listen, whether they’re singing praises or expressing doubts.
I will judge Rosen by the same criteria as I judged Darnold and Mayfield. Here is how he stacks up:
- 3 years as the starter? – No (Two and parts of a third)
- Is he a senior? – No
- Did he graduate? – No
- Did he start 30 games? – Yes (30)
- Did he win 23 games? – No (17)
- TD:INT ratio at least 2:1? – Yes (59:26)
- Completion percentage over 60? – Yes (60.8%)
3/7 criteria met
Check out how Rosen stacks up against Mayfield and Darnold. Who do you think is the best quarterback in the draft?
☘️Cheers☘️
4thquarter17.wordpress.com 
One reply to “Breaking Down the QB’s: Josh Rosen”