Scouting Report: Is Josh Rosen worth the #1 pick?

[godkiller]

What do you think? Here's my scouting report on the mercurial UCLA passer:

Accuracy:



Elite accuracy. His balls tend to hit receivers in the right area without forcing them to break stride. Whether in a clean pocket or not, Rosen rarely misses his target. There are a litany of NFL QBs with worse accuracy than Rosen right now.

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Mechanics:


Rosen possesses elite mechanics, or the potential for elite mechanics. He has light and instinctive feet. He sets up quickly and smoothly from the snap. He steps into his throws. His release is fast and efficient. He resets effortlessly. There's very little wasted motion in Rosen's mechanics.

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Decision-Making: Rosen's decision-making is OK. He doesn't throw into double or worse coverage often. However he does take sacks trying to make a play rather than throwing the ball away and living around day. This tendency is easily fixed in the NFL.
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Pocket Presence: Rosen's pocket presence leaves something to be desired. He will stand tall in the pocket, but rarely steps up. He also doesn't have an instinctive or special feel for manipulating the pocket like Jared Goff did. Rosen sometimes sees shadows in the pocket and gets flustered, which inspires panic and narrows his field vision. The result is usually a missed opportunity or turnover. His pocket presence is perhaps average.

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Mobility: Rosen has limited mobility. He isn't fast and doesn't run for yards. He usually looks clumsy trying to run. He can make time in the pocket but a lack of speed does hurt him. He misses the opportunity to make plays because of it.

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Conclusion: Rosen is a rich man's Eli Manning with better accuracy, decision-making, mechanics and mobility. He is perhaps what Eli could have been if Eli didn't have 2 left feet, and some other handicaps. Given a line and weapons, Rosen potential is that of a top 10 NFL QB. Whereever he goes, Rosen will soon be better than a veritable list of NFL starters (*whispers* Matthew Stafford, Ryan Tannehill, Andy Dalton) at or before Year 4. . The Browns shouldn't miss out on this talent whatever the cost. Rosen Da Gawd?

 

[The Fire]

Howeverhe does take sacks rather than throw theball away.

Pocket Presence: Rosen's pocket presence leaves something to be desired. He will stand tall in the pocket, but rarely steps up. He also doesn't have an instinctive or special feel for manipulating the pocket like Jared Goff did. Rosen sometimes sees shadows in the pocket and gets flustered, which inspires panic and narrows his field vision. The result isusually a missed opportunity or sack.

^^ this is big at the NFL level. he’s a great passer and he has good vision but he’s not really ahead of the game, he doesn’t have that touch (yet)
I like him as a prospect just worried he’s gonna get smoked. And he’s a cool guy who I think will be a good locker room presence ()

 

[BlackBall]

This kids goIng to be a superstar

 

[godkiller]

Howeverhe does take sacks rather than throw theball away.

Pocket Presence: Rosen's pocket presence leaves something to be desired. He will stand tall in the pocket, but rarely steps up. He also doesn't have an instinctive or special feel for manipulating the pocket like Jared Goff did. Rosen sometimes sees shadows in the pocket and gets flustered, which inspires panic and narrows his field vision. The result isusually a missed opportunity or sack.

^^ this is big at the NFL level. he’s a great passer and he has good vision but he’s not really ahead of the game, he doesn’t have that touch (yet)
I like him as a prospect just worried he’s gonna get smoked. And he’s a cool guy who I think will be a good locker room presence ()

You're correct pocket presence is important in the NFL. While Rosen doesn't have great pocket presence, the USC game shows his awareness is around NFL average. He'llturn the ball over a la Bradford or Eli when he fails to sense pressure, but his other strengths should give him enough time to develop a pocket game. He'll get plenty of chances

 

[Jerz-2]

He needs to stay...otherwise he's going to be trash at the next level.

In fact, all these QBs this year are trash....except for Darnold, who is EXTRA SUPER trash.

Not one of these dudes is gonna be a star NFL QB.

 

[godkiller]

He needs to stay...otherwise he's going to be trash at the next level.

In fact, all these QBs this year are trash....except for Darnold, who is EXTRA SUPER trash.

Not one of these dudes is gonna be a star NFL QB.

He has nothing to gain from staying in college. Most of Rosen's weaknesses can be ironed out after a year of sitting. I can't comment on Darnold yet. Need to see his latest film.

 

[Saysumthinfunnymike]

I'd trade down. I don't see any of these QBs this year as franchise material

 

[Tony D'Amato]

Rosen is a better prospect than Wentz or Goff, and teams were salivating over them.

 

[Max.]

I think he can be matt ryan lite or end up like tannehill.. ends up where he goes

 

[Tony D'Amato]

I think he can be matt ryan lite or end up like tannehill.. ends up where he goes

He has a way better arm than both. There is no way the Giants pass on him

 

[Stop_It_5]

I'd trade down. I don't see any of these QBs this year as franchise material

If you're a team going through a scorched earth rebuild that's cool, but if your roster is even halfway decent the 5 years of financial control over a quality QB is too tempting to pass up.

that's why even in classes that were considered "weak" like the last two you still had Goff, Wentz, Trubisky, Mahomes, and Watson fly off the board early.

 

[godkiller]

Rosen is a better prospect than Wentz or Goff, and teams were salivating over them.

Not Goff because of Goff's special pocket presence imho.

 

[feelosofer]

I like Rosen and I think he's the 2nd best QB in the draft, my only issues with him are his tendency to hold on the ball too long in the pocket which is huge in the NFL. He has a great release so he's going to have to be coached to make at least his 1st 2 reads within 5 seconds of an NFL snap. He also isn't super athletic, not saying he can can't move within the confines of the pocket but he needs to be able to escape the pocket and still make plays if it breaks down. Also, word on the street is Rosen is not well liked by his teammates which may seem silly but QB is the one position where the intangibles matter almost as much, with that being said, he is going to be at worst the #2 draft pick, he'd be an ideal fit on the Giants.

 

[godkiller]

I like Rosen and I think he's the 2nd best QB in the draft, my only issues with him are his tendency to hold on the ball too long in the pocket which is huge in the NFL. He has a great release so he's going to have to be coached to make at least his 1st 2 reads within 5 seconds of an NFL snap. He also isn't super athletic, not saying he can can't move within the confines of the pocket but he needs to be able to escape the pocket and still make plays if it breaks down. Also, word on the street is Rosen is not well liked by his teammates which may seem silly but QB is the one position where the intangibles matter almost as much, with that being said, he is going to be at worst the #2 draft pick, he'd be an ideal fit on the Giants.

Rosen can sometimes hold the ball too long and invite sacks, but when his receivers played well enough against USC I did see him release the ball on time. He does seem lost when his reads aren't defined and he has to make a play. His play is mechanical which doesn't lend itself to much creativity outside the pocket. I see him as maybe a rich man's Eli Manning or something like Matt Ryan, whom in truth is more a top 15-10 QB than top 5. Good analysis. I would still take him #1 because Darnold has turnover & pressure issues.

 

[godkiller]

I think he can be matt ryan lite or end up like tannehill.. ends up where he goes

I can see both these possibilities to be honest. I may be overvaluing Eli in asserting even a rich man's version is a top 10 QB. Rosen could end up as Matt Ryan lite. However, Rosen has a better arm and more fluid feet than Ryan. I wouldn't draft Matt Ryan #1 again but Rosen's arm/feet combo connote more potential than Ryan possessed. I'll draft that.