Jim Mora Jr: UCLA's Josh Rosen 'needs to be challenged intellectually'

Ex-UCLA football coach Jim Mora Jr. caused a stir last week by citing "fit" as the reason that the Cleveland Browns should select USC's Sam Darnold over his former quarterback, Josh Rosen.

Mora, who coached Rosen for three years, did his best to clean up the muddied situation on the MMQB's Peter King.

"Josh, I think, without a doubt, is the No. 1 quarterback in the draft," Mora told King. "He's a franchise-changer. He's got the ability to have an immediate impact. His arm talent, intelligence, and his ability to see the game and diagnose the game is rare. He'd come to the sidelines after a play and it was uncanny -- he could right away say exactly why he made every decision."

That's a pretty glowing endorsement. So, why shouldn't the Browns select Rosen?

"[Rosen] needs to be challenged intellectually so he doesn't get bored," Mora said. "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."

For the record, both Darnold and Rosen are considered millennials.

Mora's recent comments come on the heels of his appearance on NFL Network's "Path to the Draft," during which he said that he'd advise the Browns to select Darnold with the top pick.

"Because of fit, I would take Sam Darnold if I were the Cleveland Browns," Mora said at the time. "I think [he has] that blue-collar, gritty attitude. I think his teammates will love him. I think the city will love him. He'll say the right things. He'll come in and represent well. I think he kind of represents what Cleveland is. And then if I was one of the New York teams, I'd take Josh like that [snaps fingers]. I think they're both going to be great pros."

The Browns hold the first and fourth overall picks and the New York Giants have the second selection in the 2018 NFL Draft, which will be held on April 26-28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The New York Jets, who could be eyeing a potential franchise quarterback, moved up three spots to No. 3 and sent the No. 6 pick, two second-round selections in this draft (No's. 37 and 49) and a second-round pick in 2019 to the Colts in the trade on March 17.

Rob Rang of NFLDraftScout.com has Darnold as the top overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft in his most recent edition of The Big Board.

Rosen is listed second by Rang, followed by Penn State running back Saquon Barkley, Notre Dame offensive guard Quenton Nelson and North Carolina State defensive end Bradley Chubb.