The NFL Draft is just two weeks away, which means the rumor mill will be working overtime. One of the juiciest rumors leading up to the draft is that the Arizona Cardinals will take Kyler Murray with the No. 1 overall selection.
Arizona currently has last year’s 10th overall selection, Josh Rosen, as their starting quarterback. Is it worth trading a first- or second-round pick for the Patriots to acquire Rosen? Bill Belichick was interested in drafting Rosen last season if he managed to fall to the 32nd pick, but that did not transpire. Unfortunately, he may have played his way out of being worth this year’s 32nd pick.
Rosen’s debut season was underwhelming, at best. He completed 55.2 percent of his passes for 2,278 yards with 11 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He started 14 games behind one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL which led to 45 sacks taken by the young signal-caller. That was the seventh-most sacks among all NFL quarterbacks last season. His inaccuracy and inability to stay upright is why he only managed 5.8 yards per attempt and an average of 163 passing yards a game. That was the lowest passing average total in the league in 2018.
Despite the awful numbers during his rookie season, Josh Rosen has the talent to play in this league. He just needs the right coaching and some time to develop. Being forced to start before he was ready (and on a dreadful team that couldn’t protect him) was the contributing factor to Rosen’s hapless start.
New England needs to address their backup quarterback position, whether it is through the draft or via trade. Tom Brady wants to play a few more years, but there is no way around the fact that he is 41 years old and could decide to call it quits as early as next offseason. Neither Danny Etling nor Bryan Hoyer should be considered the successor to Tom Brady.
Josh Rosen could be that successor if the price is right.
The Patriots should, by all means, be in negotiations with Arizona for Rosen. The vast amount of “experts” that believe Murray will go to Arizona with the first pick warrants an inquiry by the Super Bowl champions into the price tag on Rosen. He may have lost first-round value due to the speculation surrounding Arizona taking Murray, which makes Rosen dispensible. If he’s only a backup quarterback, Rosen isn’t worth a first-round draft pick. As the draft approaches, his value continues to drop and will plummet if Arizona ends up selecting Murray.
New England possesses 12 picks in the upcoming draft, including six in the first three rounds (two second-rounders and three third-rounders). The Cardinals are unlikely to accept a third-round pick as compensation for Rosen and would keep him as a back-up if they can’t get the right deal. If they decide keeping Rosen isn’t worth the headache, the Patriots should absolutely trade a third-round pick for the kid.
The Patriots own the 56th and 64th picks in the second round. It would be thievery to land last year’s 10th-overall selection for either of New England’s second-round picks but this also seems exactly like something the Patriots would pull off. Another reason to trade for the potential superstar is his contract. He is owed around $2 million per year on his current contract so he will be a cheap asset while learning from Tom Brady and awaiting his retirement.
One way or another, the Patriots will have to find Brady’s successor. If the stars align and a trade is made, Josh Rosen would end up going from worst to first with the opportunity to learn from the greatest quarterback to play the game.
