UCLA Football: Way-Too-Early Top 5 For 2018 NFL Draft

1 of 5

Oct 8, 2016; Tempe, AZ, USA; UCLA Bruins quarterback Josh Rosen (3) against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Sun Devil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

We haven’t even gone through the 2017 NFL Draft yet but it is never too early to look at the top NFL talent on the UCLA Football roster for the 2018 draft.

The UCLA Football team will lose a chunk of talented players to either graduation or the NFL Draft this offseason. The good news? There’s plenty more where that came from.

The Bruins have begun to trend towards the big teams like Alabama, LSU and Ohio State when it comes to reloading not rebuilding. They’re not there yet but the progress has been made.

Let’s start with the most obvious name on this list…

Josh Rosen, QB, Jr

Rosen was a major get for this coaching staff when he committed to the Bruins despite the possibility that he would have to sit behind former UCLA QB Brett Hundley. Turns out Hundley would leave early for the NFL and Rosen would start as a true Freshman. Now it’s Rosen’s turn to leave early for the NFL.

More from Go Joe Bruin

We have to address the elephant in the room here, Rosen didn’t have a great year in 2016. It would be a difficult argument to make that he even had a good year last year. Some of that fell on him trying to make plays that just aren’t there. Some of that falls on a very porous offensive line that could not protect him. And a chunk of that falls on him learning his second offensive system in as many years.

Rosen also missed the last six games of 2016 with a shoulder injury that was the result of nerve damage. It will be imperative Rosen shows he’s recovered during spring and fall camp. 2018 will also see him learning another new system and this time without his starting left tackle from last year.

Now let’s get to the good news. Rosen has the prototypical build, arm, accuracy, quick release and anticipation you want in your QB’s at the next level. He’s been battle tested with 19 starts under his belt and 34 total touchdowns. He isn’t much of a threat to run but can slide in the pocket to buy a little time. If given adequate protection he will shred defenses.

Next year’s crop of QB’s is especially talented and had Rosen been eligible to come out this year he would have been far and away the top QB prospect. A bounce back year will make him the top QB in the 2018 NFL Draft.