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Through much of the pre-draft process, the Cleveland Browns had their eyes set on taking a quarterback with the first overall pick, which they wound of taking Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield at the spot. This entire conversation around the selection did not involve UCLA's Josh Rosen being a strong possibility to be the first player off the board.
Instead, he had remained aloof from that dialogue with the other three top projected quarterbacks being in the mix. According to Steve Doerschuk of Cantonrep.com, team vice president of player personnel Alonzo Highsmith provided some insight into what may have led to the Browns moving away from giving Rosen some serious consideration at the pick.
“I was at an airport,” he said. “UCLA’s volleyball team was in front of me. You heard so much about Rosen. He’s this or that. We all know how people talk.
“So I asked one of the volleyball coaches, ‘What’s Rosen like?’ He said, ‘Aaaaa, you should probably ask his girlfriend. She’s one of the players. She’s over there.’
“I’m like, ‘All right coach. That’s good enough.’
“I don’t know what all this means, but there was something about him that bothered me.”
Much of this appears to be centered on the strong personality that Rosen has displayed that hasn't rubbed everyone the right away and led to his slight drop in the draft. There is no denying his arm talent and ability on the field, but it is clear that his personality has played a major part in pushing him away from those top three picks.
This may have been the thinking for other teams such as the New York Jets, who decided to take USC's Sam Darnold at the third overall pick overall him last Thursday. However, he has landed in a situation where he has a chance to potentially take over as the starting quarterback at some point in the near future with some viable offensive weapons around him.
Nonetheless, this makes it more evident that teams like the Browns were factoring in his personality in determining if he was the best fit for their franchise long term.
