Arizona Cardinals: How was Josh Rosen’s preseason debut?
How did Arizona Cardinals prized first-round pick Josh Rosen fare in his first preseason outing? We take a look at the rookie’s debut…
The preseason debut of Josh Rosen was highly anticipated, and the rookie showed off some of the skills that got him some top five love prior to the 2018 NFL Draft.
The Arizona Cardinals were thrilled to be able to trade up with the Oakland Raiders to draft Rosen, who fell either for off-field concerns or injury concerns, perhaps a combination of both.
Whatever the case, the Cardinals were ecstatic in their draft room when Oakland agreed to trade down, and got their franchise quarterback of the future after going out and signing Sam Bradford and Mike Glennon in free agency as well.
How did Rosen look when he took the field for the first time as a pro?
Every @josh3rosen throw from his @AZCardinals preseason debut! #LACvsAZ https://t.co/TPPYHMOGex
— NFL (@NFL) August 12, 2018
This is a standout performance from the Arizona center, in a bad way.
It looks like Rosen is an infielder out there taking ground balls at times.
That had to affect him at least a little but overall, Rosen looks a lot in this game like he did most of the time at UCLA.
He shows poise in the pocket, and the best throw he makes in this one is when he slides to avoid pressure to his right, and rockets the ball downfield for a big game.
When everything is on schedule, Rosen is a tough quarterback to defend. He does really well picking apart defenses from a clean pocket and puts the ball right where it needs to be more often than not.
Unfortunately for Rosen, his struggles come when the pocket breaks down. As evidenced in this game, he does a pretty good job when asked to make minimal adjustments to pressure, but he’s not as fleet of foot as other guys in this year’s draft class, which may have been what set them apart.
Next. Cardinals were wise to sit Rosen. dark
With Rosen, it’s easy to see the athletic limitations compared to his peers in the 2018 draft class but looking at throwing mechanics and how pretty the ball comes out of his hand, he’s on another level.
This was an okay debut for the rookie and the Cardinals should look to get him some time with the number one offense to see what he can do not only against the best but with a more competent supporting cast.