Before the 2018 NFL Draft, Josh Rosen drew a lot of comparisons to Packers QB Aaron Rodgers. Not necessarily because their play styles are similar — they aren’t — but the two do seem to share similar character traits.
Here’s an example: Rosen made headlines when he declared the nine teams that had passed on him before the Cardinals took him off the board had made a mistake.
Thirteen years earlier, Aaron Rodgers had a similar moment after he fell to the 24th pick in the NFL Draft after there was a lot of talk of his hometown 49ers taking him with the first-overall pick. San Francisco went with Alex Smith and Rodgers slid to the Packers later in the round. After he was drafted, a Bay Area reporter asked Rodgers if he was disappointed that San Francisco didn’t take him. His answer was proved to be prophetic…
Reporter: How disappointed are you that you will not be a 49er?
Rodgers: Not as disappointed as the 49ers will be that they didn’t draft me.
Rodgers wasn’t wrong. While Alex Smith turned out to be a decent quarterback for the 49ers, Rodgers developed into the best quarterback in the league and led Green Bay to a Super Bowl. His confidence was not misplaced.
Meanwhile, Rosen has yet to make good on his draft-day claim, but he still has time. Whether or not that time will be spent in Arizona is another matter.
