The Cleveland Browns took a quarterback with the first pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, choosing Sooner Baker Mayfield over others in a talented crop. One of those people, UCLA’s Josh Rosen, was passed up and some of the reasoning behind it makes next to no sense.
Browns VP of player personnel Alonzo Highsmith gave a speech in Ohio on Monday, admitting he was “bothered” by Rosen due to an interaction with his school’s volleyball team at an airport. (via CantonRep.com)
“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.”
Clearly, there’s context missing here. Otherwise, it makes no damn sense whatsoever. He simply saw Rosen’s girlfriend and decided that he was bothered?
The Browns better hope Mayfield is good or at least on the same level as Rosen. Because, this quote has the chance to bite them in the ass tremendously. I’d like to think this wasn’t a factor in choosing Mayfield over Rosen, but this is the Browns.
[Deadspin]
