UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen drew attention this week for saying that he’d “rather be a lower pick at the right team than a higher one at the wrong team” because it bucks the typical answer from a potential draft pick about being happy to play anywhere.
It also came on the heels of a report that Rosen is hesitant about declaring for the draft because he doesn’t want to play for the Browns. That’s something that was also reported about USC quarterback Sam Darnold earlier this year, but Darnold denied that was the case and gave a similar answer when asked Wednesday about the possibility of playing for the Browns.
“Whenever I come out to go to the NFL, I think I’d be honored to play for any team,” Darnold said, via ESPN.com. “It’s been a dream of mine for such a long time to play in the NFL. Any team that would want to give me that opportunity to be a part of their organization, it would mean the world to me.”
Darnold has not announced his intentions for the draft at this point and there’s sure to be a lot of debate about whether he or Rosen is a better prospect if both of them leave school early. On-field production will be crucial to how that shakes out, but it won’t be a surprise to see some views, anonymous or otherwise, touch on how the two quarterbacks have responded to the question of where they’d like to be as a professional player.
