by Patrick Kidd
The 2018 NFL Draft boasted an extremely talented field of young quarterbacks (QB). The build-up to Draft night was full of uncertainty and excitement as the order in which the talented QBs would be picked was very up in the air. By the end of the first round of the Draft, five quarterbacks had been taken off the board, including four in the first 10 picks.
Over the next month, the five quarterbacks of the 2018 NFL Draft will have their young careers reviewed and revisited, as the ranking of the quarterbacks’ careers will be counted down.
5th out of 5: Josh Rosen
University of California, Los Angeles alum Josh Rosen was one of the quarterbacks drafted in 2018 and coming out of college he had the potential to be a future star in the NFL. But after nearly three lacklustre seasons in the league, the Californian’s ability has been put into question.
Rosen was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals with the 10th pick of the 2018 Draft. The Cardinals traded with the Oakland Raiders in order to secure whom they believed to be their future franchise quarterback. Unfortunately for Rosen, his time in Arizona was far from successful.
The Cardinals finished with a league-worst 3-13 record and Rosen, who played most of the season as the starter, put up unremarkable numbers. Rosen finished the season with 11 touchdowns and 14 interceptions for 2278 yards.
After Arizona’s poor season, staff changes had to be made. So new head coach Kliff Kingsbury was appointed to steady the ship for the 2019 season. Having secured the first overall pick in the 2019 Draft, Kingsbury drafted a new quarterback for the team in Kyler Murray. As a result, Rosen was traded to the Miami Dolphins.
During his tenure at the Dolphins, Rosen once again was unable to shine. He spent most of the season as a back-up to Ryan Fitzpatrick and once again saw his team draft a new QB only one season after joining them, as Tua Tagavoila was selected by Miami in 2020. Rosen was released by the Dolphins soon after the Draft.
Rosen currently finds himself residing in Tampa Bay as a back-up to the legendary Tom Brady and under the guidance of famed head coach Bruce Arians. Understandably, he is yet to take a snap for the Buccaneers but one would hope that he is learning and evolving under Brady’s mentorship. Despite only being on the team's practice squad, it would be no surprise to see him become the starter once the 42-year-old freak-of-nature that is Tom Brady decides to retire.
Josh Rosen has indisputably had the worst start to an NFL career of the 2018 QB Draft class, but by no means is this a result of his own doing. In Arizona, he was playing for a bad team with awful coaches, yet he was still able to put up respectable numbers. Then, new staff in Arizona gave up on his untapped potential and a similar lack of faith from the Dolphins’ front office sealed his demise in Miami.
At 23 years-old, Rosen still has plenty of time to unleash the promise that got him drafted 10th overall. Spending this season as a back-up and learning the tricks of the trade from the best to ever do it will do a world of good for him. His career has been tumultuous so far, but once he gets his next job as a starter Rosen will prove to be the franchise quarterback he was touted to be in 2018.