Josh Rosen - Pro Football Rumors

Jets Divided On Rookie QB Class

April 4th, 2018 at 1:15pm CST by Sam Robinson

The 2018 draft will bring one of the more unique quarterback pools in memory, with four passers likely going in the top 10 and possibly all coming off the board in the top five. Only with less than a month until the draft, the pecking order remains wildly uncertain.

One team with a decision to make will be the Jets, and they’re divided about this quarterback class at the current juncture, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News writes. They are not the only team going through the deliberation process, with the Browns — who are visiting with all four of the top prospects this week — finalizing their preference as well.

But Gang Green surrendered a bounty of picks to move up to the No. 3 spot, so some pressure is on Mike Maccagnan to get this pick right. Mehta notes that when the team made the move from No. 6 to No. 3, Baker Mayfield lagged behind the three other high-profile passers. Now, there’s been plenty of buzz about the Jets being ready to pull the trigger on the Oklahoma product.

Several Jets officials “love” Josh Allen‘s skill set, and the team has been connected to the Wyoming signal-caller since before its draft standing was established. The Jets were believed to have done the most work on Allen as of last season. Others in the organization, per Mehta, aren’t certain the Mountain West quarterback is right for New York.

Mayfield’s intangibles continue to impress many Jets officials, but his 6-foot frame and smaller hands are providing concerns, Mehta writes, adding that Mayfield’s footwork has even drawn scrutiny for some. Others point to his dominance in college — 70.8 completion percentage from 2016-17 — as reasons the footwork won’t be an issue. A consensus of sorts, though, points to the Jets preferring Sam Darnold over Mayfield. Although, Darnold is not expected to make it past both the Browns and Giants. Execs expect the Giants, who are not certain to take a quarterback, to pull the trigger on Darnold if the Browns go with Allen.

Additionally, Mehta notes the Patriots are fans of Mayfield. And after their Brandin Cooks trade, they have a major additional resource — the Rams’ No. 23 overall pick — to attempt a possible trade-up to acquire a quarterback. Said passer, investment-wise, would be the franchise’s most significant effort to appoint a Tom Brady successor. Mehta adds the Bills remain in hot pursuit of a trade into the franchise-quarterback sector of the draft. And Buffalo’s stockpile of picks may be enough to outflank the Patriots, whom Mehta does not expect to be able to strike a deal with the Giants for the No. 2 selection.

Giants Schedule Pre-Draft Visits With QBs, RB Saquon Barkley

April 4th, 2018 at 11:42am CST by Dallas Robinson

The Giants plan to meet with the draft’s top four quarterbacks — USC’s Sam Darnold, UCLA’s Josh Rosen, Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield, and Wyoming’s Josh Allen — next week, according to Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com (Twitter link). Meanwhile, New York will also used one of its 30 allotted pre-draft visits on Penn State running back Saquon Barkley, tweets Dianna Russini of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Provided the Browns select a quarterback with the No. 1 overall pick, the Giants will have their choice of three signal-callers, Barkley, offensive lineman Quenton Nelson, or edge rusher Bradley Chubb with the second pick. While New York intends to deploy veteran Eli Manning as its starting quarterback once again in 2018, the club could use this opportunity to find its passer of the future.

But Barkley would likely give the Giants a better chance to win in the near-term, as Big Blue’s running back depth chart is currently uninspiring. At present, New York has veteran Jonathan Stewart, plus recent draft picks Wayne Gallman and Paul Perkins, at running back, but Barkley would immediately take over as the club’s starter if drafted.

Browns To Host Lamar Jackson On Visit

April 3rd, 2018 at 2:30pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Browns will be bringing in all four of quarterbacks linked to them at No. 1 overall this week, with Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reporting Josh Rosen‘s visit will round out a busy week of powwows between Browns brass and highly touted passing prospects.

But the most accomplished college quarterback in this draft will also visit the Browns soon. Next week, Lamar Jackson will be summoned to Cleveland to meet with the Browns, Nate Ulrich of ohio.com reports. Yahoo Sports first reported this meeting would commence.

Hue Jackson said at the league meetings last week he wouldn’t neglect the 2016 Heisman Trophy winner and 2017 Heisman finalist, and Ulrich notes the Browns are intrigued by Jackson’s dual-threat abilities. The Louisville phenom is expected to be selected after the Browns’ draft windows open, being projected to go later in the first round.

Jackson already went through a private workout with the Texans, but that would be an incredibly unlikely union due to Houston’s investment in the 2016 Heisman Trophy runner-up. Jackson could still be on the board by the time the Browns pick again at No. 33, but with the franchise widely expected to select a passer at No. 1 overall, a Jackson landing spot figures to be away from Cleveland. John Dorsey said a two-quarterback draft won’t be likely to occur on his watch.

Draft Rumors: Browns, Allen, Jets, Giants

April 2nd, 2018 at 8:15pm CST by Sam Robinson

Baker Mayfield will be the first of the big four passers to visit the Browns. The Oklahoma product is flying into Cleveland on Monday night to begin his visit, one that will last through Tuesday as well, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reports. Josh Allen‘s meeting at Browns headquarters in Berea, Ohio, will commence on Wednesday, Cabot reports, and Josh Rosen and Sam Darnold are coming in shortly after that. Three of these powwows are expected to be completed by the end of this week, with Cabot reporting one may occur early next week. Hue Jackson said last week he is “very close” to determining which of these QBs will be his preference going into the draft. The Browns are widely expected to select a quarterback at No. 1 overall. John Dorsey said he wants these QBs to visit consecutively to allow for easier comparisons between them.

Mayfield will visit the Giants and Jets next week, and both he and Rosen are meeting with seven teams. The only difference between these prospects’ schedules thus far is the Dolphins have not arranged a Rosen meetup, while the Chargers have, and the Bolts are not known to have set up a Mayfield summit.

Here’s more out of Cleveland and some other NFL cities as draft month begins.

Jets representatives will fly to Wyoming to work out Allen this week, per Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News (Twitter link), before the 6-foot-5 signal-caller visits their Florham Park, N.J., facility shortly after. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports the Jets meeting will take place early this week as well. The Jets have been connected to Allen for months and were rumored to be planning a workout soon.
The Allen/Browns connection should not be dismissed, Rapoport notes (video link). Citing a source who’s known Dorsey for a long time, the new Cleveland GM has long preferred big-armed passers. Patrick Mahomes qualifies as the latest such investment, and although the former NFL linebacker was not a high-ranking Packers exec when they traded for Brett Favre in 1992, Dorsey was a scout for Green Bay at the time. He was with the Packers as their director of college scouting when the team made the Aaron Rodgers pick in 2005. Alex Smith is the outlier, but the Chiefs held the No. 1 pick in a 2013 draft that was not flush with quarterback upside. Allen is viewed as the top arm talent in this draft.
Should the Browns make this decision and bring Allen to northeast Ohio, the expectation is the Giants will draft Darnold. Surveying various executives and scouts, Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller tweets every one of them said the Giants would take Darnold if Allen goes to the Browns. Dave Gettleman has not been as direct as Dorsey and Jackson have about the position his team is targeting in Round 1, and it’s not certain the Giants are going to draft a quarterback despite theirs having recently turned 37.
Lamar Jackson will not count toward one of the Dolphins‘ 30 visits since he went to high school in the Miami area, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald notes. The Dolphins have not been linked to a Jackson meeting just yet, but they were on hand at the Louisville phenom’s pro day. And since a meeting will be fairly easy to set up, it’s likely the Fins will host the dual-threat passer.
Hayden Hurst will visit the Jaguars on Tuesday, Rapoport tweets. Rated by many as the top tight end in this year’s class, the South Carolina product will meet with a team that just released one of its cornerstone players in Marcedes Lewis. Jacksonville has been busy at this position this offseason, agreeing to deals with Austin Seferian-Jenkins and Niles Paul. But the team looks to be exploring the notion of further investing at tight end with the No. 29 overall pick.

Josh Rosen Will Play For Whoever Drafts Him

April 2nd, 2018 at 1:18pm CST by Zachary Links

Josh Rosen‘s former head coach isn’t sure that he’d be a fit for the Browns, but Jim Mora‘s comments are not part of a conspiracy to steer Cleveland away from him. The UCLA product will not refuse to play for Cleveland or any other team, a source tells Mike Florio of PFT.

This is not the first time we’ve heard speculation about a top prospect trying to avoid the Browns. Last summer, there were rumblings that Sam Darnold could hold off on his draft decision until the identity of the team at No. 1 overall was determined. Apparently, none of this year’s top four QBs have any reservations about the Browns as Rosen, Darnold, Mayfield, and Allen have all publicly welcomed the challenge of righting the ship in Cleveland.

Most prognosticators have the Browns zeroing in on Darnold or Allen, but GM John Dorsey says that the team is still open to all options at No. 1. They’ll meet with Rosen this week and he’s unquestionably in the mix after turning in the best completion percentage (62.6%) and touchdown/interception ratio (26/10) of his collegiate career in 2017.

Josh Rosen To Meet With Seven Teams

April 2nd, 2018 at 10:03am CST by Zachary Links

UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen is set to meet with the Browns, Jets, Giants, Cards, Broncos, Bills, and Chargers in the coming weeks, according to Peter King of The MMQB. Cleveland gets the first crack at Rosen with a visit lined up for this week.

King suspects that the Browns will ask Rosen about recent comments made by his former head coach, Jim Mora, in which he advocated for USC Sam Darnold go to No. 1 overall.

“Because of fit, I would take Sam Darnold if I were the Cleveland Browns. I think that blue collar, gritty attitude, I think his teammates will love him, I think the city will love him. He’ll say the right things. He will come in and he will represent well. I think he kind of represents what Cleveland is. And if I was one of the New York teams, I would take Josh *snap* just like that. I think they will both be great in the pros.”

In his conversation with King, Mora expounded on those thoughts a bit, but didn’t exactly backtrack.

“He needs to be challenged intellectually so he doesn’t get bored,” Mora said, while reemphasizing the angle of Rosen needing the proper “fit.” “He’s a millennial. He wants to know why. Millennials, once they know why, they’re good. Josh has a lot of interests in life. If you can hold his concentration level and focus only on football for a few years, he will set the world on fire. He has so much ability, and he’s a really good kid.”

Mora’s comments may be a topic of discussion for interested teams, but it would be shocking to see Rosen fall any further than the Jets at No. 3.

North Notes: Browns, Vikings, Meredith

March 31st, 2018 at 6:24pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Vikings are working on a deal that would bring Terence Newman back to the Twin Cities, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets. Newman has expressed a desire to not only return for his age-40 season but do so with the Vikings. However, Tomasson confirms a previous report that money is an issue for a potential re-up. Newman made $3.58MM in 2017. Minnesota reached an agreement to re-sign Marcus Sherels and has Mackensie Alexander back for a third year behind their the team’s starting duo. Newman played in 16 games last season and remained a mid-tier corner in the opinion of Pro Football Focus despite his age.

Here’s the latest from the North divisions as we enter draft month.

Connected mostly to Sam Darnold and Josh Allen at No. 1 overall, the Browns are still publicly expressing their interest in the big four quarterbacks at this juncture of the process. But Hue Jackson is “very close” to finalizing a preference to bring to John Dorsey and has said he would like a quarterback whose mobility is relatively in step with Tyrod Taylor‘s, as opposed to a stationary passer. The Baker Mayfield interest is believed to be genuine, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reports, adding the Heisman Trophy winner enjoyed a “great” workout with the Browns this week. The team is expected to bring Allen, Darnold, Mayfield and Josh Rosen in for visits before the draft.
Darnold-to-Cleveland has been the scenario most discussed around the league at this point, Terry Pluto of cleveland.com writes. While Pluto doesn’t discount the idea of the Browns going in a different direction, he has not heard anything lately connecting the team to Rosen. The UCLA quarterback was not exactly a portrait of enthusiasm about a potential Browns union when that subject surfaced late last year.
After the Browns take their quarterback at No. 1, Pluto expects them to select Bradley Chubb at No. 4. The caveat of the N.C. State dynamo being available should obviously be included, but with the Jets expected to take a QB at No. 3 and it making sense for the Giants to do the same at 2, the Browns could have the inside track on selecting the top quarterback and top non-quarterback in the draft. Jackson hasn’t exactly been evasive about envisioning what Chubb would bring to the Browns’ defense.
The Vikings still had concerns about Teddy Bridgewater‘s knee after the 2017 regular season, despite the quarterback being activated midway through the year. Ben Goessling of the Minneapolis Star Tribune notes these concerns affected the team’s approach regarding the former first-round pick this offseason. “The reports I’d get back from the medical people weren’t as positive as I was about it,” Mike Zimmer said. “That’s kind of how it came down is that his knee wasn’t as … he still has some recovery to do. When I watched him in practice he moved well, I didn’t see limitations but from what I’m told there was some.” The Vikings deactivated Bridgewater for both of their playoff games, and his Jets contract is light on guarantees.
Having brought in several UFA or RFA wideouts for visits recently, the Ravens may have a favorite among these pass-catchers. Baltimore is believed to be particularly high on Cameron Meredith, Jeff Zreibec of the Baltimore Sun reports. Given the low-end tender by the Bears, Meredith joined fellow RFA Willie Snead and UFA Michael Floyd in trekking to Maryland for visits this month. Meredith’s met with the Colts and Saints as well, doing so after missing the entire 2017 season. The 25-year-old former UDFA, though, broke out with 888 receiving yards for the 2016 Bears. The Bears have $27.5MM in cap space compared to the Ravens’ $10.7MM figure, for offer-matching purposes.

AFC East Notes: Pouncey, Jets, Draft

March 18th, 2018 at 6:07pm CST by Micah Powell

The Dolphins are overhauling their roster this offseason, looking to improve the culture of the club. A move that wasn’t motivated by the locker room, however, was the release of veteran center Mike Pouncey, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets.

Rapoport notes the All-Pro center received rave reviews for his leadership skills and toughness, but was simply cut because the Dolphins invested more money in the signing of Josh Sitton and the trade for Daniel Kilgore. Pouncey, who had three years left on his current deal, asked and was granted his release earlier this week after declining to take a pay cut. The Dolphins saved $7MM against the cap with the move.

Despite playing in all 16 games, Pouncey struggled through a hip injury in 2017. Pro Football Focus noted his down year, grading Pouncey as just the No. 27 center in the NFL. It’s possible Pouncey will require hip replacement surgery down the road, while at least one doctor has reportedly recommended that Pouncey retire, but he’s rejected that advice tho this point.

Since the trade deadline in 2017, the Dolphins have now parted ways with top producers like Jarvis Landry, Ndamukong Suh and Jay Ajayi, while also releasing veterans Lawrence Timmons and Julius Thomas.

Here’s more from around the AFC East:

Sticking with Pouncey, it was reported earlier in the week that he would take his first visit to meet with the Chargers on Sunday. That meeting is expected to be an extended one that will last through Monday and include a physical, CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora tweets. The Buccaneers and Colts have also shown interest in the center, but Tampa Bay could be more content now after signing Ryan Jensen to the richest deal for a center in NFL history.
After acquiring the No. 3 pick in the upcoming draft from the Colts, the Jets have not ruled out moving up even further, ESPN’s Rich Cimini writes. Cimini thinks that if they have one or two quarterbacks markedly ahead of the rest of the pack, New York could swing a deal for the Giants’ No. 2 pick or Cleveland’s No. 1. He does not that it is unlikely and would probably be “too rich for the Jets’ blood.”
Cimini also thinks the Jets prefer Josh Allen, Sam Darnold and Josh Rosen to Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield. He notes general manager Mike Maccagnan typically prefers prototypical signal-callers, rather than the undersized Mayfield. “My hunch is that Maccagnan and coach Todd Bowles wouldn’t be fans of the Mayfield sideshow.”

Jets Acquire No. 3 Pick From Colts

March 17th, 2018 at 9:52am CST by Ben Levine

The Jets are moving up. The team has acquired the third-overall pick from the Colts (via Indy’s Twitter). In exchange, the Jets have sent Indy their first-rounder (No. 6) a pair of upcoming seconds (No. 37 and No. 49), and a 2019 second-round pick.

NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (via Twitter) that the Jets “explored all options,” including the possibility of adding the top-overall pick from the Browns. Meanwhile, the Colts heard offers from several teams, but they ultimately felt good about the package they received from the Jets.

The general consensus seems to be that the Jets will ultimately use their new pick to take a quarterback. By acquiring the selection, the organization is assuring that they can take one of the top prospects in the draft, a list that includes Sam Darnold, Josh Allen, Josh Rosen, and Baker Mayfield. Of course, choosing a quarterback with the third pick will only complicate the Jets’ quarterback plans heading into 2018.

Assuming they take a quarterback in the draft, the team will clearly be leaning on the youngster to lead the organization in the future. However, for at least next season, the Jets would likely turn to veteran Josh McCown for the starting gig. After re-signing McCown earlier this week, the organization reportedly told the signal-caller that he’ll be their starter next season. The Jets also added Teddy Bridgewater, and they’re rostering Bryce Petty, Christian Hackenberg, and Joel Stave. At least two of those latter three quarterbacks will be let go prior to the season.

In recent years, we’ve seen several teams trade into a top-three selection in the draft. Last season, the Bears moved up to No. 2 and sent San Francisco No. 3, No. 67, and No. 111. In 2017, the Titans traded the No. 1 pick (along with No. 113 and No. 177) to the Rams for No. 15, No. 43, No. 45, and No. 76 (along with a first- and third-rounder in 2017). That same year, the Browns traded No. 2 (and a conditional fifth-rounder) to Philly for No. 8, No. 77, No. 100, a 2017 first-rounder, and a 2018 second-rounder.

What does this all mean? Well, it seems like both teams could justify the haul they gave up/received. According to ProFootballTalk.com’s “Draft Trade Chart,” Indy received solid value for the No. 3 pick. That selection was given a value of 2,200, and their new 2018 selections equal out to a 2,540 value (that also doesn’t account for the 2019 second-rounder). From that perspective, you could argue that the Colts won the trade. However, when you consider the trades from previous seasons, the Jets did an admirable job of not including an additional first-rounder in the package.

Peter King On Browns, McCarron, Tannehill

March 5th, 2018 at 11:01am CST by Zachary Links

Here’s the latest from Peter King of The MMQB:

The Browns have four picks in the top 35 of this year’s draft, but coach Hue Jackson is still pushing for the team to acquire A.J. McCarron, King hears. If the team does go for McCarron in March, the plan would be for the team to also draft a rookie quarterback to be groomed behind him. The Browns, of course, nearly landed McCarron before last year’s trade deadline before a paperwork snag tanked the deal. One has to wonder if McCarron would be skeptical about the Browns’ level of commitment to him in such a scenario, particularly after seeing how Mike Glennon‘s arrangement worked out with the Bears. Then again, McCarron might be faced with a similar scenario with any team that shows interest him.
It has been said that the Dolphins are committed to Ryan Tannehill at quarterback, but King is not convinced after speaking with executives at the combine. Miami is look at QBs at No. 11 overall and several people who spoke with King believe they’ll select a signal caller there. Tannehill has missed the last 19 Dolphins games with back-to-back ACL tears.
After speaking with several GMs, scouts, and coaches, this is King’s rough consensus for the top ten player’s in the draft: Penn State running back Saquon Barkley, USC quarterback Sam Darnold, North Carolina State edge rusher Bradley Chubb, Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen, Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield, UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen, Notre Dame guard Quenton Nelson, Alabama defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick, Ohio State cornerback Denzel Ward, and Georgia linebacker Roquan Smith.