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Five quarterbacks were won in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft, a class that changed the course of several franchises – two of which ended droughts that have lasted more than a quarter of a century. The Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills are emerging as perennial playoff contenders with the franchise quarterbacks they picked in the 2018 Draft, while the Cleveland Browns ended decades of playoff futility with the quarterback of the franchise they selected with the first overall pick.
The New York Jets are still evolving regarding the quarterback they picked in the 2018 draft, while the Arizona Cardinals have already left their QB pick – and found a new quarterback. of the franchise a year later. This historic quarterback class in the NFL Draft provided more hits than misses, while also shaking the balance of power in the AFC playoffs for 2020 – and for years to come.
With three of those quarterbacks won a playoff game and made it to the divisional playoffs, we’ll take a look at each of the 2018 Draft Class quarterbacks in this week’s “By the Numbers”.
Baker Mayfield (Cleveland Browns) – No. 1 overall
Mayfield, the top pick in this draft class, already has an accomplished resume for his third season in the league – and is the first quarterback to win a playoff game for the Browns since Vinny Testaverde in 1994. Mayfield was the second no. ° 1 overall pick to win a road game in his first career playoff start – the other being Michael Vick. The Browns won a road playoff game for the first time since 1969, when Bill Nelsen was quarterback and Cleveland played in the NFL Century Division.
Here’s what Mayfield accomplished during his three years at Cleveland:
- Joins Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck as the only players in history to record at least 3,500 passing yards with at least 20 touchdown passes in each of their first three seasons.
- Has fifth most passing yards (11,115) and completions (932) by a No. 1 overall pick in his first three seasons. His rating of 89.1 passers is also fifth.
- Most touchdown passes (75) in the first three years with the Browns – passing Otto Graham (70).
- The third touchdown goes through a No. 1 overall pick in his first three years, behind Luck (86) and Manning (85).
As of Week 7 of this season, Mayfield has completed 63.71% of his passes for 2,731 yards with 19 touchdowns with just two interceptions. His ranking of 103.4 passers ranks eighth in the NFL.
The Browns have won 11 games in one season and a playoff game for the first time since 1994. A victory this weekend would win the Browns’ first conference championship appearance since 1989.
Sam Darnold (New York Jets) – 3rd overall
Darnold’s tenure with the Jets could end after three seasons, as New York has been one of the worst football teams with him as a quarterback in the franchise. Here’s where Darnold has ranked among the 42 NFL quarterbacks since the start of the 2018 NFL season with a minimum of 500 passing attempts:
- Percent Complete – 59.8% (40th)
- Passing yards – 8,097 (22nd)
- Touchdown pass – 45 (25th)
- Quarterback score – 78.6 (41st)
- Yards per attempt – 6.64 (37th)
- Percentage of gains / losses – 0.342 (36th)
The Jets are 13-25 in Darnold’s 38 starts. Darnold ranks second in franchise history among quarterbacks in passer rating and completion percentage, while also placing fourth in passing yards and touchdowns. If Darnold stays in New York, he will be his third head coach in four years.
Josh Allen (Buffalo Bills) – 7th overall
Despite all the flak Allen received in his first two seasons, he became an MVP contender in year three – leading the Bills to their first playoff win and Premier League title since 1995. In Buffalo’s playoff victory over the Indianapolis Colts last week, Allen became the first player in NFL history to complete 70% of his passes and throw more than 300 yards while rushing for more from 50 yards in a playoff game.
Allen set the Bills franchise records for touchdown passes (37), successes (396), 300-yard games (eight), completion percentage (69.2), passing yards ( 4,544) and the total hit (46). Here are some other accomplishments that Allen accomplished in 2020:
- The only player in NFL history with over 400 passing yards, over 30 passing touchdowns and over eight rushing touchdowns in a season.
- The only quarterback in NFL history with three consecutive seasons of more than seven rushing touchdowns.
- The first player in NFL history with two games in a season with over 400 passing yards, more than three passing touchdowns, zero interceptions and a passer rating of over 130.
A second All-Pro team this season, Allen started his career with 41 touchdowns for just zero interceptions in the red zone (third-most all-time before throwing an interception). He’s the fifth player in NFL history with one passing touchdown, one running touchdown and one receiving touchdown in his playoff career (Freeman McNeil, Kordell Stewart, Julian Edelman, Nick Foles).
Allen is playing the best football of his career as he looks to bring the Bills to their first AFC Championship game appearance since 1993. Here’s where Allen has ranked among the NFL quarterbacks in the last seven games ( regular season and playoffs):
- Touchdowns – 22 (1st)
- Passing yards – 1997 (2nd)
- Percent Complete – 71.2 (3rd)
- Passer rating – 115.2 (4th)
Josh Rosen (Arizona Cardinals) – 10th overall
Rosen only lasted one season in Arizona before the Cardinals threw him to the Miami Dolphins. He only lasted one season with the Dolphins before he was lifted. He landed on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers practice squad in September, before the San Francisco 49ers signed him out of the Tampa Bay practice squad and into their practice squad in December.
Of the 42 quarterbacks who have more than 500 winning attempts since 2018, here’s where Rosen ranks:
- Percent Complete – 54.78% (42nd)
- Touchdown passes – 12 (42nd)
- Passer rating – 63.5 (42nd)
- Yards per attempt – 5.67 (42nd)
- Percentage of wins and losses – .188 (42nd)
Rosen has been football’s worst starting quarterback since being drafted, with his teams only 3-13 in his 16 starts. His future as a starting quarterback is shaping up, and quite possibly his tenure as an NFL quarterback.
Lamar Jackson (Baltimore Ravens) – No. 32 overall
The only MVP in this draft class so far – which is impressive considering he’s only been in the league for three years – Jackson is on his way to a historic career start. Here’s the long list of everything Jackson has accomplished so far, including his MVP season in 2019:
- The fastest quarterback to reach 30 career wins (37 starts).
- First quarterback in NFL history to experience multiple 1,000-yard running seasons and back-to-back 1,000-yard running seasons.
- Only the second quarterback with consecutive seasons with more than 25 touchdowns and more than five rushing touchdowns (Deshaun Watson)
- The fastest quarterback in league history with 5,000 passing yards and 2,000 rushing yards (35 games). First quarterback to accumulate 5,000 passing yards and 2,000 rushing yards in his first three seasons.
- Only quarterback to have 3,000 passing yards and 1,000 passing yards in one season (2019).
- Third quarterback in NFL history with more than 35 touchdowns and more than seven rushing touchdowns in a season (Steve Young, Cam Newton).
- Most games with more than two TDs and more than 50 rushing yards in a player’s first three seasons (14).
Jackson became the third youngest player to win the NFL MVP title and playoff game at 24 years and 3 days – only Patrick Mahomes (23, 117 days) and Dan Marino (23, 106 days) were more youth. Jackson joined Colin Kaepernick as the only quarterback in NFL history with multiple 100-yard rushing games in the playoffs, rushing for 136 yards in the AFC’s win over the Tennessee Titans ( the third most for a quarterback in league history).
The Ravens have won six straight games while Jackson completed 67.74% of his passes for 988 yards with 11 touchdowns on four interceptions for a 107.9 passer rating. He also has 72 carries for 566 yards and five touchdowns during the streak – arguably the best football of his career.
Jackson is the best quarterback in this draft class at this point, but he and Allen will be competing for the most successful this weekend when they face off. Buckle up NFL fans.
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