Did Alonzo Highsmith’s gut feeling push the Cleveland Browns through a historical trap door?
It’s a question worth asking after the Browns vice president of player personnel revealed Monday one reason why Josh Rosen fell down the team’s internal rankings of quarterback prospects ahead of the 2018 NFL Draft, in which Cleveland had the No. 1 overall pick. If the Browns were considering taking Rosen with the top pick, a chance encounter played a role in convincing them not to do so.
“I was at an airport,” Highsmith told The (Canton, Oh.,) Repository’s Steve Doerschuk. “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.”
So the Browns lost interest in Rosen over a hunch? That seems to be the case, although the specific nature of the hunch isn’t clear from Highsmith’s comments.
Cleveland ultimately drafted Baker Mayfield No. 1 overall. Highsmith spoke highly of Mayfield to The Repository, and the former Oklahoma Sooners star must prove the Browns didn’t make a familiar mistake with their latest top pick.
Rosen fell to No. 10 where the Arizona Cardinals drafted him after three quarterbacks already had gone ahead of him in the first round. The snubs left Rosen “pissed” and undoubtedly will add to his motivation as he begins his NFL career. Highsmith’s reasoning only can have the same effect on Rosen.
