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Cardinals trade up, nab UCLA QB Josh Rosen at No. 10

Published Apr. 27, 2018 12:45 a.m. ET

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Bob Baum

TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Arizona Cardinals made their long-awaited move for a potential franchise quarterback, trading up five spots in the first round to select UCLA's Josh Rosen with the 10th pick overall on Thursday night.

They acquired a 21-year-old quarterback who is not at all happy he wasn't drafted higher.

"I thought I should have been picked at one, two or three," he said in a conference call. "...I was really, really angry."

As he stewed in his seat at the draft in Arlington, Texas, Rosen said he was prepared to put on a fake face of happiness for whatever team chose him but said that didn't happen when he finally went to the Cardinals.

"I got really happy and really motivated," Rosen said. "All I wanted to do was basically get on a plane and go straight to Arizona and start working."

As to why he fell, "I don't know and I don't care," he said. "It's behind me. I'm an Arizona Cardinal now and I hope I will be for many, many years to come."

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To get the selection, the Cardinals sent their own first-round pick (No. 15) as well as one of their third-round selections (No. 79) and their fifth-round choice (No. 152) to the Oakland Raiders.

It's the highest Arizona has drafted a quarterback since taking Matt Leinart at No. 10 in 2006.

Rosen, who had a standout career in college but was hampered by injuries, was the last of the so-called "big four" quarterbacks chosen. Baker Mayfield went No. 1 to Cleveland, Sam Darnold No. 3 to the New York Jets and Josh Allen No. 7 to Buffalo.

Rosen is pleased that the "kind of annoying" pre-draft process is over.

"I'm just excited to get past that and especially get to the substance and do stuff that actually matters," he said.

Rosen is expected to be in Tempe for a news conference Friday and participate in rookie minicamp next month.

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He joins new head coach Steve Wilks and offensive coordinator Mike McCoy.

The team addressed the quarterback situation in the short-term in the offseason by signing Sam Bradford to a one-year deal with Mike Glennon as his backup.

But the Cardinals sorely need a long-term solution at that position and general manager Steve Keim went ahead with the trade, knowing that the next team, Miami at No. 11, could be interested in a quarterback.

Rosen comes from a wealthy family and has an extremely confident, sometimes brash personality that may have been a factor in him still being there at No. 10.

This is what his UCLA coach, Jim Mora said, in a well-publicized interview:

"He needs to be challenged intellectually so he doesn't get bored. He's a millennial. He wants to know why. Millennials, once they know why, they're good. Josh has a lot of interests in life. If you can hold his concentration level and focus only on football for a few years, he will set the world on fire. He has so much ability, and he's a really good kid."

Wilks said he's "coached a lot of different personalities."

"To make a difference, you've got to be different," Wilks said. "I love his personality. He's wired the right way."

Do not expect Rosen to speak in boring cliches. That's not him.

"Maybe if I shut up there last three years I could have been picked higher, but I want to be me," he said. "The Arizona Cardinals know what they're getting. They're not getting a kid that's going to say stupid things. ... They're going to get a kid that everyone knows who they're getting every single day they walk in the building."

And his outspokenness doesn't bother the Cardinals.

"I don't think he's afraid to say what's on his mind, which I don't always think is a bad thing," Keim said. "I think there's been some pretty successful quarterbacks in the NFL in recent years who have been wired the same way."

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McCoy, who worked with the likes of Tim Tebow in Denver and Philip Rivers when McCoy was head coach in San Diego, has said he wants to design an offense that fits the abilities of his players.

"I understand the situation," Rosen said. "I'm going to come in, I'm going to be respectful. Sam Bradford and Mike Glennon are two amazing quarterbacks and we're going to compete our butts off. Regardless of who's the starter, we're going to support that person. Obviously, I want to be the starter but if I'm not I'm going to support the team, because I'm not Team Josh Rosen playing on the Arizona Cardinals, I'm part of the Arizona Cardinals and I want to win Super Bowls for the Arizona Cardinals.

"And I think over time that will happen."

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