It’s no secret that many fans and pundits think the New York Giants should take a quarterback with the second overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Let’s take a closer look at one of the options for Big Blue, Josh Rosen.
Over the past few weeks, several mock drafts have come out with the New York Giants taking UCLA Bruins quarterback Josh Rosen with the second pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.
One of the recent mock drafts that were done was by NFL.com’s Charley Casserly. He—and others—believe that Rosen is the most NFL-ready quarterback available in the draft.
Taking Rosen with the second pick in the draft would make sense for the Giants since Eli Manning is 37 and is only under contract through the 2019 season and the fact that backup Davis Webb has yet to take a single snap in the NFL.
But just like anything else, there’s the good and the bad if the Giants decide to take Rosen.
Here are the pros and cons of the Giants taking Rosen with the second pick.
Pros
Have a young quarterback that can duel with Wentz and Prescott
If you’re going to have success in the NFL it all starts by winning division games. The Giants two main rivals in the NFC East are the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys, two teams that both have their quarterback situation set in Carson Wentz and Dak Prescott.
Wentz and Prescott will be just 25 when the 2018 season starts and should be leading their teams for the next decade. So the Giants need to find their young gunslinger, someone who can go throw-for-throw with them moving forward.
Nobody knows if Webb can be that guy, so drafting a player with the upside Rosen has would be the ideal move for the Giants.
He’s not afraid of the big stage
Playing in the New York City area can be daunting for some players and they fold under the bright lights. But Rosen seems to thrive when all eyes are on him.
In 2015 he became the first true freshman in UCLA’s history to start the season opener. In that game against Virginia, he completed 28-of-35 passes for 351 yards and three touchdowns in the Bruins 34-16 victory.
Although he played in only one Bowl game, Rosen one of his best games when UCLA took on the USC Trojans in November.
This was one of the marquee games of the college season since Rosen and USC quarterback Sam Darnold are both projected to be taken in the top of the draft.
Despite losing 28-23, Rosen didn’t freeze under the big lights and outperformed Darnold. He completed 32-of-52 passes for 421 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, compared to Darnold who completed 17-of-28 passes for 264 yards, no touchdowns and one interception.
USC’s talent was vastly superior to UCLA’s, so the fact that Rosen was able to keep UCLA competitive speaks volumes about his talent.
Just look at this ball placement in that window covering this much distance. So gorgeous. pic.twitter.com/WzD0imqZy4
— Joe Marino (@TheJoeMarino) February 16, 2018
Can learn from Eli
While Rosen is the most NFL-ready quarterback coming out, he has an abundance to learn on how to be an NFL quarterback. There may not be a better option to learn from on what it takes to be an NFL quarterback on and off the field than Eli Manning.
Rosen can sit and watch how Manning conducts himself on and off the field, and be better prepared to take over once Manning’s time is done. The Giants and their fans are hopeful they’ll have similar results to when Steve Young took over for Joe Montana, or when Aaron Rodgers took over for Brett Favre.
Cons
He doesn’t fit with the Giants’ win-now mode
When Dave Gettleman and Pat Shurmur committed to Manning being the team’s quarterback in 2018, they made it clear they’re in win-now mode rather than rebuilding.
As mentioned earlier, Manning only has two more years on his contract. So it would serve the Giants best to capitalize while Manning is still the quarterback, and get players that can help him win now, rather than his eventual successor.
Getting Penn State running back Saquon Barkley or one of the best offensive linemen in the draft would give the Giants the best chance to win, rather than taking someone whose job duties for 2018 would only consist of holding a clipboard.
Many teams only have two quarterbacks on their active roster, so to have Webb and Rosen take roster spots when they won’t see the field barring an injury to Manning would not be ideal for a team coming off a 3-13 season.
He has a history of injuries
In 2016, as a sophomore, Rosen suffered an injury to his right shoulder in the Bruins 23-20 loss to Arizona State that required season ending shoulder surgery. Then last season he suffered two concussions, the last one in the first half of the Bruins season finale against California. Not only did it force him to miss the second half, but also the team’s Cactus Bowl game against Kansas State on Dec. 26, which they lost 35-17.
In addition to the injuries that caused him to miss games in his three years with the Bruins, he’s been sacked 54 times playing behind a subpar offensive line. He’s shown toughness, but you have to wonder how much wear and tear is already on his body and how it will hold up playing in the NFL.
Questionable attitude, commitment to the game
Over the past year some have questioned Rosen’s love for football. For some reason this topic comes up every year surrounding a top prospect. Sometimes these reports are speculations, but sometimes where there’s smoke there’s fire.
In the past Rosen has vehemently denied this notion and he will have to do this again during the pre-draft interview process.
There’s also the perception that Rosen is a selfish and entitled rich kid that makes poor decisions off the field. He’s also not afraid to speak his mind, as he did in an interview with Bleacher Report’s Matt Hayes last August.
“Look, football and school don’t go together. They just don’t. Trying to do both is like trying to do two full-time jobs. There are guys who have no business being in school, but they’re here because this is the path to the NFL. There’s no other way. Then there’s the other side that says raise the SAT eligibility requirements. OK, raise the SAT requirement at Alabama and see what kind of team they have. You lose athletes and then the product on the field suffers.”
He was also seen wearing a “F Trump” hat while golfing at one of Donald Trump’s golf courses.
To say he is outspoken and has strong opinions would be an understatement. The Giants have some outspoken players already on the team as we all know, and adding Rosen to the mix could lead to further distractions and conflicts. After the disarray the Giants locker room was last season, they don’t need any more turmoil.
