Patrick Peterson has been one of the best cornerbacks in football for the past several years, and he has gone up against plenty of great quarterbacks during that span. So when he goes out of his way to heap praise on a rookie, it must mean something.
Peterson was asked about Arizona Cardinals first-round pick Josh Rosen during an appearance on “The Rich Eisen Show” Monday, and he had extremely high praise for the former UCLA star.
“I’m very impressed,” Peterson said, as transcribed by Jeremy Bergman of NFL.com. “To see [Rosen] make checks and get guys in line early, I was like, ‘Has this guy been here before?’ I was very, very impressed of his spring camp, minicamp, OTAs. He’s just been extremely sharp.”
We have already heard similar remarks from Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks, and the observations are especially noteworthy since Arizona brought in Sam Bradford to serve as a bridge QB. That gives the Cardinals an opportunity to have Rosen take a red shirt year, but that may not end up happening.
“Honestly since he’s been with us, he’s been the total opposite of what you hear from the media or you hear from outside people,” Peterson added. “The way he’s able to grasp the offense and get guys in line right now, I’ve been very, very impressed with that. As far as his throwing motion and his quarterback IQ and his pocket presence and all that stuff, it’s off the charts. I’ve never seen a rookie come on a team and do some of the things he’s doing.”
If you want to know how confident Rosen is in his abilities, look no further than the incredibly cocky quote he had after he was the fourth QB taken in the draft. Perhaps so many teams passing on him was all the motivation Rosen needed.
