NFL Draft: Teams need to analyze Josh Rosen with their eyes, not their ears

Teams need to analyze Josh Rosen with their eyes, not their ears (cont.)

Back in the fall of 2015, I attended UCLA football’s fall camp in San Bernardino. In observing and trying to discern what exactly the Bruin coaches were planning to do with Rosen, I locked into something. I found myself entranced on something I never noticed in any UCLA quarterback in the last decade.

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It was how Rosen presented himself. As a freshmen, he didn’t say much (Jim Mora was too busy screaming at him to get a word out), but his demeanor spoke volumes. He was alert and focused on what the coaches were saying (when expletives were not involved). He was looking at everything that was in front of him, taking in the field and all the activity around him.

And then it happened. He went behind center, ready to take a snap. His body, like a seasoned professional, stabilized when he got into his stance. He looked like a statue with only his head moving as he surveyed the defense.

The ball was snapped to him and he took several steps backwards with some beautiful footwork as he gave himself enough space to operate. He looks to one receiver, a second a third. He delicately gripped the ball, not pulling it away from his chest until he found his receiver. It was his form that was mesmerizing. I had not seen anything like it, at least on the college level, especially for a freshman. Especially at UCLA.

In the previous three years, I had been watching Brett Hundley, who did a masterful job with his spread offense, but there was a difference in pre-snap preparation. I am not saying Hundley had bad fundamentals, it is just that Rosen had excellent fundamentals and looked NFL-ready from Day 1.

What he has done in the last three years has been consistent with just that.

If you have the time, check out this article from Yahoo Sports which goes into more specific detail about Rosen’s in-game abilities, including mechanics and decision making…