Dilfer: Cardinals won draft with Rosen pick, QB has Rodgers-type talent
Apr 26, 2018, 8:35 PM | Updated: 9:49 pm
(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
NFL analyst and Super Bowl winner Trent Dilfer was not shy in his assessment of how the Arizona Cardinals did by trading up to No. 10 in the NFL Draft and selecting Josh Rosen.
“You guys just won the draft,” Dilfer said of the Cardinals’ move on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station. “Repeat this sound in six years when Josh is taking you to a Super Bowl or gone to multiple Pro Bowls. You guys just did something that doesn’t happen very often.
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“At No. 10 you got a franchise guy that can carry the weight of a city, a franchise. He’ll do everything that’s asked of him and more and he’s got so much hunger and a burning desire in him. I think you’re looking at really kinda the next Aaron Rodgers-type player in the NFL. He’s that kind of talent.”
Dilfer has a noted history with Rosen, who he feuded with at his Elite 11 quarterback camp for high school prospects. He said that both of them learned from the experience and they connected last summer.
“He’s an outlier,” he said. “He’s a kid that expects nothing but greatness from himself and everybody else around him.”
Former Arizona Cardinals quarterback and Hall of Famer Kurt Warner might not be as sky-high on Rosen as Dilfer, but he likes the talent.
“I think he’s the most gifted passer in this class as far as when he sets his feet when he stands in the pocket,” Warner said on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station. “Can make all the throws, it’s effortless.”
Where Warner has some concern is when Rosen has to improvise and throw on the move.
“When he gets off-schedule, he’s not nearly as good so that’s something he’s gonna have to work on,” he said.
“He has to work on the ability to throw with your body more so when your feet aren’t lined up with you, you can still be accurate with those throws,” Warner said. “Because it’s not just about if you have the arm talent to do it, it’s about being able to get your body weight moving in that direction, even when you can’t step in a throw, because that’s where accuracy comes from.”
With Rosen’s mindset, Warner worries he will overthink plays in the pocket.
“I always worry sometimes with those guys that are really smart — can they separate that and think fast and not overthink things?” He said. “When you talk to different people, you get some mixed emotions when they’ve sat in a room and talked to him about overthinking some things and trying to do too much at times. I think that’s the one caveat but I love him as a passer.”
