Stokley: Broncos ‘can’t gamble’ on Rosen; Schlereth likes QB’s game
Feb 21, 2018, 8:26 PM
Mark Schlereth said on Wednesday that if the Denver Broncos couldn’t land Kirk Cousins in free agency, the direction he would go would be to draft and develop a young quarterback.
The “Schlereth and Evans” co-host said he’d draft a guy, develop him, and get a bridge quarterback — think Josh McCown — who’d be a “great mentor” and “teach a young kid how to play the game the right way.”
But, who might that “young kid” be?
In ESPN NFL Draft expert Mel Kiper Jr’s latest mock draft, that guy is Sam Darnold — the USC quarterback whom many had as the top pick earlier this offseason — much to the excitement of “Stokley and Zach” co-host Brandon Stokley.
“What a great scenario for the Broncos. Couldn’t pass that guy up. No chance I’d pass him up,” Stokley said on Wednesday.
In Kiper’s scenario, Darnold would be the second quarterback off the board, with Wyoming’s Josh Allen going No. 1 overall to the Cleveland Browns and Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield sixth to the New York Jets.
Perhaps more of a shock, however, was Josh Rosen — the second-best quarterback on many draft boards — falling all the way to the Miami Dolphins at pick 11.
At least in terms of the Broncos draft, Stokley said Denver can’t afford to “gamble” on Rosen, whom he said has questions about his affinity for football and playing quarterback, among other things.
“He might turn out to be the best of the bunch because he has all the tangibles,” Stokley said.
“Will he figure it out? Maybe so. But I’m not gambling on the guy at No. 5 — I just can’t do it — because of all of those red flags and because of what has happened here in the last few years when you have picked a quarterback.
“You can’t get it wrong. You can’t gamble on a guy like that if you’re the Denver Broncos.”
Schlereth, on the other hand, said there’s “no question” about Rosen’s skill set, arm, or talent, and he might be the “best quarterback out there” from the standpoint of being polished and knowledge of the game.
As for the questions about Rosen’s work ethic or love of the game, Schlereth said:
“You know the whole, the guy’s got other issues … Listen, you’ve got to live the lifestyle. You’ve got to be a quarterback. You’ve got to be committed to being a quarterback. There’s nothing that I know of that says Josh Rosen wouldn’t be committed.”
Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @johnnyhart7.
