Josh Rosen very well could be on the move next week, and many believe the young quarterback could be headed to New England.
Rosen reportedly has become expendable as the Arizona Cardinals set their sights on drafting Kyler Murray with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. ESPN on Wednesday floated a hypothetical blockbuster involving Rosen and the Patriots, but this draft-day deal doesn’t bring the 22-year-old to Foxboro.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell put together an all-trades mock draft in which all 32 teams orchestrate deals instead of actually picking players. As for the Patriots, Barnwell suggests Bill Belichick and Co. assist a quarterback-needy team on acquiring Rosen while filling their own needs in a wild three-team deal.
From Barnwell:
Giants get: QB Josh Rosen (from Cardinals), No. 134 overall (from Patriots)
Patriots get: TE Evan Engram, No. 37 overall (from Giants), DE Robert Nkemdiche (from Cardinals)
Cardinals get: No. 32 (from Patriots)
All teams seemingly would come out of this deal as winners. It would make sense for the Patriots to pursue Rosen as Tom Brady’s successor, but the Giants are far more desperate when it comes to replacing Eli Manning, their own seasoned QB. In this scenario, New York would be able to land its next franchise signal-caller while keeping the No. 6 overall selection to address one of its several other needs, including a pass-catcher, offensive lineman or edge rusher.
Engram is a capable pass-catcher, but as Barnwell notes, his talents aren’t being fully utilized within the Giants’ run-first offense. The 24-year-old wouldn’t come close to filling the void Rob Gronkowski left behind, but it’s certainly a start. This year’s draft class features two stellar tight end prospects in Noah Fant and T.J. Hockensen, but both Iowa products likely will be off the board by the time New England picks to close out the first round.
There’s next to no chance this trade actually comes to fruition, but hey, there’s no harm in having a little fun with draft-day scenarios.
