Sam Darnold has come a long way since his disastrous days as a New York Jet. The No. 3 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft looked to be another USC bust destined to grace the pages of the New York Post as a punching bag until his eventual journeyman status became the avenue for his resurgence.
While Darnold toiled away in places like Carolina and San Francisco, some of his fellow first-round draftees were busy becoming the next faces of the league. Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson have combined for three league MVP awards, and Baker Mayfield survived becoming the bad boy scapegoat for the Cleveland Browns' perpetual miseries. Only Josh Rosen can claim to have done worse than Darnold before the 2024 season.
Now, after two consecutive 14-win seasons on two different teams, Darnold is going to the Super Bowl and has completely shaken up how fans and pundits view the 2018 quarterback class. Here's how they rank today:
5. Josh Rosen
The Arizona Cardinals spent the 10th overall pick on Rosen after making a trade with the then-Oakland Raiders. His career has gone down as one of the biggest disappointments in NFL Draft history. Rosen went 3-10 in his only season as Cardinals starter before losing all three decisions (six games played) with the Miami Dolphins after he was traded there the following year. He recorded just 2,864 passing yards, 12 touchdowns and a whopping 21 interceptions across 24 career games.
Rosen no longer plays in the NFL and last was seen on the Minnesota Vikings practice squad for the 2022-23 season. If I could, I would've ranked Pittsburgh Steelers backup Mason Rudolph (selected 76th overall) ahead of him.
4. Baker Mayfield
Okay, before the Lamar Jackson haters come after me for discounting Mayfield's recent form and resurgence, it's a small gap between fourth and third on this list. Tampa Bay crashed and burned after starting the year on fire and Mayfield looking like an MVP candidate. He's had a very successful tenure in the NFC South, including two playoff appearances in the last three seasons, but his on-field inconsistency is still reason for concern.
Until Mayfield can lead a team to consecutive 10+ win seasons, he's going to remain just behind Jackson for the time being. That's not to say Baker can't have the same kind of surge Darnold had this year to propel himself to a Super Bowl. The Buccaneers have the right weapons, it's just a matter of winning the games.
3. Lamar Jackson
I get it, Jackson hasn't won the big one yet and I'm not talking about the Super Bowl. He's got three playoff wins in his career but five losses doesn't help his case despite his talents. The only reason he's ahead of Mayfield is the fact that if you put Jackson on any NFL team, it instantly gets better. Well, that and his two league MVP awards don't hurt.
Jackson's 2025 is the outlier on his career, only playing 13 games and missing the playoffs for just the second time ever (2021). His dual-threat abilities haven't weaned in the slightest but some questionable coaching tactics (and execution issues) in latter-round playoff games have caused his young legacy to suffer. He'll remain mid-list until he can finally get Baltimore back to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2012.
2. Josh Allen
I think we all know why Josh Allen isn't number one on this list, and it was painfully obvious during the Buffalo Bills' overtime loss to the Denver Broncos in the Divisional Round. Allen can be Superman for a franchise looking to banish the days of four-straight Super Bowl losses, but his ball security issues have been his kryptonite.
That being said, Allen has been a relative shell of himself over the last two years. He failed to reach 4,000 passing yards like he had the previous four consecutive seasons and his 25 touchdowns were his lowest total since 2019. There's an evident regression in his game and now the organization is having to find a new head coach to stop the slide before his championship window closes.
1. Sam Darnold
Becoming the first of the 2018 QBs to reach the Super Bowl is surprising in itself. His disastrous tenures with the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers would put him in Mayfield's territory, but something clicked when he reached Minnesota. His 2024 season under head coach Kevin O'Connell saw him reach a career high 4,319 passing yards and 35 touchdowns, leading the Vikings to 14 wins but falling short in the playoffs.
Darnold essentially replicated his 2024 campaign but with Seattle, something Minnesota (among others) are currently regretting let happen, and he figured out a way to avoid a disappointing conclusion ahead of the big game. He arguably had a lesser cast of offensive weapons entering the 2025 season compared to Minnesota but proved he was the catalyst for success and not O'Connell's tactics. If he returns from Santa Clara with the Lombardi Trophy, he will be able to laud a championship none of the other future Hall of Famers in his draft class have come close to achieving.