The NFL Draft just got a whole lot more interesting.
The will-they, won't-they debate regarding UCLA's Josh Rosen and USC's Sam Darnold reached its conclusion Wednesday night. Arguably the top two quarterbacks in college football both declared for the 2018 draft.
Rosen released the following statement via Twitter:
Thankful to be a Bruin pic.twitter.com/iph754UL2b
-- Josh Rosen (@josh3rosen) January 3, 2018
Darnold released a video on his Instagram account.
Darnold thrust himself into the national spotlight with a marvelous performance in the 2016 Rose Bowl. In a 52-49 victory over Penn State, he threw for 453 yards with five touchdowns and one interception.
The 2017 season wasn't as kind to the 6-4, 220-pound 20-year-old as he struggled with ball security. His completion percentage dropped from 67.2 to 63.1, and he threw for 4,143 yards with 26 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. Still, he figures to be a top-five pick.
Rosen is considered a more polished quarterback than Darnold, and had the better individual season of the two this year. He completed 62.5 percent of his passes, and threw for 3,717 yards with 26 touchdowns and just 10 interceptions.
Now that Rosen and Darnold have officially declared, the rumors can start up for who's interested in the two. The Browns and Giants, who pick first and second in the draft, both need quarterbacks. The Broncos (No. 5), Jets (No. 6) and Cardinals (No. 15) should be in the market, too.
The Colts, who own the No. 3 pick, could receive quite a few phone calls from others looking to trade up.
While Rosen and Darnold top the class, they won't be the only big names available. Wyoming's Josh Allen already declared, and it won't be long before Lamar Jackson (Louisville) and Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma) do the same.
All five figure to be first round picks.
Connor Hughes may be reached at chughes@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Connor_J_Hughes. Find NJ.com Jets on Facebook.