Packers 2018 Draft scouting report: QB Josh Rosen

A look at one of the premier offensive players in this year’s class, quarterback Josh Rosen, and his potential fit with the Green Bay Packers.

Josh Rosen is, in my opinion, the best quarterback in this year’s draft class and I think he will be a franchise quarterback in the NFL.

Rosen has some durability concerns as he missed a big part of his sophomore season to a shoulder injury and he had concussion problems in his junior season.

Some people are concerned about his behavior off the field but I wouldn’t worry too much about it. A lot of people have done a lot worse and been drafted in the first few rounds and I don’t think Rosen making a few dumb mistakes in college will limit his potential to be a franchise quarterback.

Rosen is one of the most polarizing players in this year’s class and I feel like he is the type of prospect coming out that you either love or love to hate. He could have a career in the mold of former MVP Matt Ryan but he could also have a injury-riddled career similar to Robert Griffin III.

Pros

Rosen is very accurate and has a nice deep ball. He doesn’t panic when he is forced to get a throw off and he has nice vision for a quarterback that is only three years removed from high school.

Has good footwork which can make him elusive from opposing pass rushers. Rosen is not going to be known for the zip he has on the ball like Josh Allen will be but he can throw a bullet if he needs to.

His offensive line was pretty inconsistent and if he gets behind a talented NFL offensive line his field vision and touch could get even better.

I am amazed that he had the completion percentage that he did in his junior year (62.6 percent, according to Sports Reference) given the mediocre receiving talent he had. His completion percentage should really be better than that but his receivers dropped a lot of good passes.

Probably has the best touch and overall accuracy on all levels of the quarterbacks in the 2018 draft.

Doesn’t get too stressed out and remains calm when under pressure.

Could be used well in RPOs if his durability holds up.

Wasn’t afraid to run around and extend plays even though his interior offensive line was inconsistent and even mediocre at times. Watch some of the plays he made in the Washington game this year and it reminds me of Aaron Rodgers late in the 2015 season with the offensive line he was dealing with.

Can fit the ball into tight windows without being afraid to do so. He knows when the tight throw makes sense and when it doesn’t.

Showed he could carry a mediocre roster that was missing a lot of the great players that Rosen had early in his UCLA career with names like Myles Jack, Kenny Clark and Fabian Moreau departing for the NFL.

Was under constant pressure in the Stanford game but maintained confidence. That game showed he can still put up points and lead a team even though his defense and offensive line let him down the entire game.

Takes care of the football very well for a college quarterback. Better at that than any quarterback in this year’s class..

Quick on his feet when he needs to be and knows when to avoid taking the hit. If he continues to do this and can stay healthy he could have a long NFL career if he wants to.

Makes defensive backs pay when they make small mistakes on medium to deep routes.

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Really good at play-action. If he were to land with Cleveland and was paired with Saquon Barkley he could be deadly.

Great at throwing over the shoulder of defensive backs.

Should be able to step in and be a starter from day one. Don’t know if I feel that confident about any other quarterback in this year’s class.

Cons

His off-field comments plus his personality will rub some front offices the wrong way and it will be important for the team he lands on to establish a good relationship between him and the coaching staff similar to the one he had with Jim Mora at UCLA.

The injury history is disturbing and I wonder if he will start out similar to how another former Pac-12 quarterback did in Marcus Mariota with a lot of injuries due to a mediocre offensive line. If he lands with a team with mediocre line play such as the Broncos or Jets this could be a major concern.

Similar to the point that I had up above, the team that gets him will want to surround him with a good offensive line from the get go. He is elusive but with his injury problems so early in his career there could be a David Carr situation if he doesn’t get support early. Cleveland, Green Bay and Baltimore all have the good offensive lines he may need.

Sometimes (by sometimes I mean very rarely) makes desperation throws down the field when under pressure. College defensive backs may not burn you with that but NFL defensive backs will. Very minor flaw that I expect to be fixed.

Sometimes throws behind the receivers backs on dig routes down the field.

Fit with Green Bay

Rosen is pro-ready and he could immediately step in and start if Aaron Rodgers were to go down again. I don’t know if he would get along well with Mike McCarthy initially but he kind of has the same personality as Rodgers coming out and that obviously worked out fine.

He also really hasn’t had to deal with the cold on the football field which he would face in Green Bay and playing in cold weather with his slim build could make his durability even worse.

I think Green Bay should still give serious consideration to drafting Rosen as the heir apparent if he somehow fell to No. 14 as they won’t be picking this high again as long as Rodgers is healthy.

Could he end up in Green Bay?

I doubt he falls outside of the top-5 but if Rosen had a Rodgers-like fall to No. 14 I would immediately pick up the phone. At the worst I think he falls to Miami at 11 or maybe Washington at 13.

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When will he be picked?

Top 10

Pro comparison

Matt Ryan

Career outlook

Top 10 quarterback

Grade

83/100

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