2018 NFL QB draft class: How Sam Darnold beat Josh Allen, Baker Mayfield to Super Bowl originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The 2018 NFL Draft class featured the top pro-style quarterback recruit in the class of 2015, two Heisman Trophy winners and two future NFL MVPs.
Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold does not fit any of those descriptions – yet he’s the first quarterback from the class to start in a Super Bowl.
The New York Jets took Darnold with the No. 3 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. The USC quarterback was one of five quarterbacks selected in the first round – and those quarterbacks have been intertwined throughout their NFL careers.
Darnold has a golden opportunity for the Seahawks against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 60 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday. He can beat those other quarterbacks to a Super Bowl championship.
Who are those QBs? How did they fare in college and the NFL? A closer look at that 2018 quarterback class – and how have fared in the NFL postseason:
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2018 NFL QB draft class
There were five quarterbacks selected in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft. Darnold was joined by Baker Mayfield, Josh Allen, Josh Rosen and Lamar Jackson. Mason Rudolph was the only Day 2 quarterback pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, and he still is in the league. Here is a look at how those quarterbacks have fared.
Baker Mayfield
2018 NFL Draft: Cleveland Browns (No. 1 pick)
College: Mayfield started in seven games at Texas Tech as a freshman, but he transferred to Oklahoma and was a three-year starter from 2015-17. He compiled a 38-8 record as a starter between the two schools. He finished fourth in the Heisman voting in 2015, third in 2016 and finally won the award in 2017. Mayfield had 14,607 yards, 131 TDs and 30 interceptions in college.
Pro: Mayfield spent four seasons in Cleveland – the high point coming in 2020 when he led a 11-5 season and a run to the AFC divisional playoffs. Mayfield had a falling out with the Browns and bounced between the Panthers and Rams before landing with Tampa Bay, where he settled in as a franchise quarterback. Mayfield has 28,525 passing yards, 197 TDs and 101 interceptions.
Playoff record: Mayfield is 2-3 in the playoffs. He led Cleveland to a 48-37 win at Pittsburgh in the AFC Wild Card on Jan. 10, 2021. He is 1-2 as a starter in the playoffs at Tampa Bay. In those five playoff games, Mayfield averaged 267.6 yards per game and totaled 12 TDs with three interceptions.
Sam Darnold
2018 NFL Draft: New York Jets (No. 3)
College: Darnold had a 21-6 record at USC in two seasons as the starter. Darnold led USC to a nine-game winning streak and a 52-49 record against No. 5 Penn State in the Rose Bowl Game on Jan. 2, 2017. The Trojans won 10 games the following season. Darnold finished with 7,229 yards, 57 TDs and 22 interceptions in those two seasons. He was never a Heisman Trophy finalist.
Pro: Darnold was 13-25 in three seasons with the Jets. He played two seasons in Carolina and one year in San Francisco before resurrecting his career in 2024 with the Minnesota Vikings. He’s continued that run with Seattle this season. In the last two seasons, Darnold is 28-6 in the regular season with an average of 4,184 yards, 30 TDs and 13 INTs.
Playoff record: Darnold is 2-1 as a starter in the playoffs, and both victories came with the Seahawks this season. In three career playoff games, he averaged 238.3 passing yards with a total of five TDs and one interception. Now, Darnold is making his first Super Bowl start.
MORE: Why Seahawks’ bold Sam Darnold signing has paid off
Josh Allen
2018 NFL Draft: Buffalo Bills (No. 7)
College: Allen played junior college football at Reedley (Calif.) before a three-year career at Wyoming. Allen was 16-10 as a starter for the Cowboys, including a 30-28 victory against No. 13 Boise State on Oct. 29, 2016 that started the hype. Allen finished with 5,066 passing yards, 44 TDs and 21 interceptions. He also had 767 rushing yards and 12 TDs.
Pro: Allen is 88-39 in the regular season as a starter for the Bills, where he emerged as one of the premier quarterbacks in the NFL. Allen won NFL MVP honors in 2024, and he has totaled 30,102 passing yards with 220 TDs and 94 interceptions. He also has 4,721 rushing yards and 79 TDs.
Playoff record: Allen is now 8-7 in the playoffs as a starter – the latest heartbreaking loss was a 33-30 overtime thriller in the AFC divisional playoffs against Denver. Allen has a pair of AFC championship game appearances, but the Bills lost to Kansas City both times. He averages 261 passing yards with 29 TDs and six interceptions in the playoffs.
MORE: Josh Allen’s worst playoff failures with Bills
Josh Rosen
2018 NFL Draft: Arizona Cardinals (No. 10)
College: Rosen was one of the most-hyped college prospects coming out of St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, Calif. He was a three-year starter at UCLA, where he had a 17-13 record as a starter. Rosen had 9,341 passing yards, 59 TDs and 26 interceptions for the Bruins. Rosen had 421 yards, three TDs and one interception in a 28-23 loss to USC on Nov. 18, 2017. Darnold finished with 264 yards and an interception in that game.
Pro: Rosen started in 13 games as a rookie for the Cardinals, but Arizona finished 3-13 that season. Kliff Kingsbury was hired, and Arizona traded Rosen to Miami so they could draft Kyler Murray. Rosen made three starts in Miami and played for Atlanta in 2021. He had 2,864 passing yards, 12 TDs and 21 interceptions.
Playoff record: Rosen never appeared in an NFL playoff game.
Lamar Jackson
2018 NFL Draft: Baltimore Ravens (No. 32)
College: Jackson had a 23-11 record as a starter during a brilliant three-year career with Louisville, where he won the 2016 Heisman Trophy and finished third in the voting in 2017. Jackson finished with 9,043 passing yards, 69 TDs and 27 interceptions. He also had 4,132 rushing yards and 50 TDs.
Pro: Jackson is a two-time NFL MVP through eight seasons with the Baltimore Ravens. He’s 76-31 as a starter in the regular season. He has compiled 22,608 passing yards, 187 TDs and 56 interceptions and rushed for 6,522 yards and 35 TDs.
Playoff record: Jackson is 3-5 in the playoffs. He led Baltimore to the 2023 AFC championship game – a 17-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs at M&T Bank Stadium. Jackson averages 219.1 passing yards with a total of 10 TDs and seven interceptions in those eight postseason games.
MORE: Inside Lamar Jackson’s playoff results and failures
Mason Rudolph
Kirby Leei-Imagn Images
2018 NFL Draft: Pittsburgh Steelers (No. 76)
College: Rudolph was 32-9 as a starter at Oklahoma State and led the Cowboys to three straight seasons with 10 wins or more. He finished seventh in the Heisman Trophy voting in 2017.
Pro: Rudolph has served mostly as a backup through two stints with Pittsburgh and one year with the Tennessee Titans. He has 4,925 yards, 30 TDs and 22 interceptions.
Playoff record: Rudolph is 0-1 as a starter in the playoffs. He made his first career playoff start on Jan. 15, 2024 against Buffalo in the AFC wild-card round. He finished 22 of 39 for 229 yards, two TDs and an interception in a 31-17 loss. Rudolph had one passing attempt for two yards for the Steelers in the 30-6 loss to Houston in this year’s AFC wild-card round.
How Day 3 QBs in 2018 NFL Draft fared
Richmond quarterback Kyle Lauletta (New York Giants, No. 108), a fourth-round pick, played in two games for New York and had five career passing attempts. Western Kentucky’s Mike White (Dallas, No. 171) – a fifth-round pick – played from 2021-24 and started in seven games for the Jets in 2021-22.
There were two sixth-round picks in Washington State’s Luke Falk (Tennessee, No. 199), who played in three games for the Jets in 2019; and Nebraska’s Tanner Lee (Jacksonville, No. 203), who did not see NFL game action.
LSU’s Danny Etling (New England, No. 219), FIU’s Alex McGough (Seattle, No. 220) and Toledo’s Logan Woodside (Cincinnati, No. 249) were the seventh-round picks. Woodside saw action in 13 games from 2020-23.
