Inside The Huskies

UW's Roger Rosengarten Suddenly Is a Hotter Draft Topic

Guru Mel Kiper Jr. elevates the former Husky offensive tackle to the first round in his latest mock offering.

Dan Raley

UW's Roger Rosengarten Suddenly Is a Hotter Draft Topic
UW's Roger Rosengarten Suddenly Is a Hotter Draft Topic /
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Every day the NFL mock drafts spit out a new order of players going here and there and everywhere. It's what they do, especially a month before the real thing happens. They keep the conversation going. 

Nothing changes physically with the players per se — the analysts just get an impulse, a hunch, a tip or a sign from the football Gods above that someone such as J.J. McCarthy is suddenly the fifth overall pick rather than the 35th, and they're off and running.

Still, the continual debate is part of the allure for draftniks everywhere and University of Washington players are at the forefront of a lot of discussion these days. For example, NFL.com's Daniel Jeremiah has wide receiver Rome Odunze, quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and offensive tackle Troy Fautanu going No. 9 to the Chicago Bears, No. 13 to the Las Vegas Raiders and No. 16 to the Seattle Seahawks, respectively, as of this week.

On Tuesday, however, the Huskies offered a new wrinkle to the pro football talent dispersal order: nimble offensive tackle Roger Rosengarten entered the first-round talk for the first time, getting slotted No. 31 to the San Francisco 49ers by draft graybeard Mel Kiper Jr. himself. 

The catch is the 6-foot-6, 300-pound Rosengarten probably goes high in the draft as an offensive guard rather than an edge protector, with his elite mobility and athleticism making him an ideal player to get out and pull. 

For Rosengarten, who was taught how to play every line position at the UW, it's likely not a big deal. It all comes down to hitting someone on every play and trying to move them off their spots, and cashing big checks for his trouble.

He didn't say it, but the perfect NFL scenario for the Highlands Ranch, Colorado, product probably would be a nice, comfortable assignment at either guard or tackle with the Denver Broncos, so the whole family could watch him play big-time football up close on a regular basis.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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