Re-Ranking 2018 QB Class After Sam Darnold Wins Super Bowl LX

The 2018 quarterback class was the most anticipated of the past decade. Five signal-callers were taken in the first round, with four going inside the top 10.

In the years since, four of those players have been named to the Pro Bowl. Two have become bona fide superstars who have been named the NFL's Most Valuable Player. And Sunday night, a quarterback from the Class of 2018 won a Super Bowl.

That was Sam Darnold, who was playing for his fifth team, the Seattle Seahawks.

All in all, there were 13 quarterbacks drafted in 2018. The first was Baker Mayfield by the Cleveland Browns first overall. The last was Logan Woodside by the Cincinnati Bengals at No. 249. Of that group, six spent time on an active roster last year while five started at least one game.

As Darnold basks in the glow from a Lombardi Trophy and with the benefit of eight seasons' hindsight, let's go back and re-rank those six signal-callers.

Spoiler alert: They are not ranked in the order in which they were selected.

6. Mike White

AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee

OK, so this is stretching the definition of both a "ranking" and a "quarterback."

Mike White has been a depth option for most of his career, but he did spend time on an active roster last season, which earns him a spot here—even if, by 2026, he's more likely to be on a practice squad or in the UFL than regularly attempting passes.

To be fair, the fifth-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys in 2018 has attempted passes in NFL games that count: 324 to be exact. He made seven starts for the New York Jets in 2021 and 2022, and even has two wins under his belt.

However, the fact that it took until White's fourth season for him to throw a regular-season pass pretty much sums up his NFL prospects.

The 30-year-old has spent time on six teams to date in his career, most recently the Carolina Panthers. For his career, he has completed 61.4 percent of his passes for 2,247 yards with nine touchdowns, 13 interceptions with a passer rating of 74.7.

5. Mason Rudolph

AP Photo/David Richard

In fairness to Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph, it's not as if he has truly been a "bust." Sure, every team would love to find the next Russell Wilson or Dak Prescott in the middle rounds, but the more realistic hope is landing a reliable backup under center.

In his second season, the No. 76 overall pick made eight starts for the Steelers in place of an injured Ben Roethlisberger. He threw for 1,765 yards, tossed 13 touchdown passes and won five games. He started six more games over the next three years, including a three-win streak in 2023 when he didn't throw an interception.

After a one-year stint in Tennessee, Rudolph was back in the Steel City last year, making one start for an injured Aaron Rodgers. Rudolph is .500 in 19 career starts, completing 64.4 percent of his passes with 30 touchdowns, 22 picks and a passer rating of 84.7.

Rudolph isn't a star, and he's unlikely to be a long-term NFL starter. But it also wouldn't be surprising if, five years from now, he is still in the league as a trusted backup, holding a clipboard, making the occasional start and earning a solid paycheck.

4. Baker Mayfield

AP Photo/Lynne Sladky

Not that long ago, Baker Mayfield was being talked about as a front-runner to be the NFL's Most Valuable Player in 2025. By season's end, he was watching the postseason on television like the rest of us.

That's the No. 1 overall pick's career in a nutshell: For every high, there has been a low—and they often come in rapid succession.

After a promising start with the Browns that included the team's first playoff win since 1927 (approximately), Mayfield had a very public falling-out with the team—one that he apparently still isn't over.

After stints as a backup in Carolina and Los Angeles, he resurrected his career in Tampa—two playoff trips, a pair of Pro Bowls and a career-high 4,500 passing yards in 2024.

However, that career year also came with an NFL-leading 16 interceptions. Mayfield is a fiery signal-caller who can light a team up when at his best. But he can also let his emotions get the best of him, which can lead to forced passes and turnovers.

Mayfield is 27-24 as the starter in Tampa Bay, and the team signed him to a three-year, $100 million contract in 2024. He is now in the final year of that deal and coming off a down year when he barely averaged 217 passing yards a game and his numbers were down significantly across the board.

The Oklahoma product has shown he can be a capable NFL starter and win a postseason start, but an extension for the 30-year-old is going to be a lot more than $33 million a season.

And with limited cap space, making a massive commitment to Mayfield could be a calamity for the Buccaneers if it turns out he's more 2025 than 2024.

3. Sam Darnold

AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill

Sam Darnold winning the Super Bowl is one of the wilder NFL stories we have seen in a while.

Not that long ago, Darnold was done. The third overall pick was known more for "seeing ghosts" than finding open receivers.

In three years with the Jets, he lost almost two-thirds of his starts. Things weren't much better for him in two years in Carolina. He was holding a clipboard in San Francisco, and that was that.

Even after the 28-year-old won 14 regular-season games with the Minnesota Vikings in 2024, a disappointing playoff exit reinforced lingering doubts about his long-term ceiling. The Vikings chose not to re-sign him, and he ultimately landed in Seattle.

Now, after a second straight 14-win regular season followed by a postseason run where Darnold didn't turn the ball over once, his redemption appears complete. He has gone from "bust" to champion, and while he's under contract through 2027 at a reasonable amount for a quarterback who has made the Pro Bowl the past two seasons, one has to think a sizable pay bump is coming.

On one hand, it's justified. The USC product is a staggering 28-6 the past two regular seasons. He topped 4,000 passing yards both times, just completed a career-best 67.7 percent of his passes and ranked inside the top 10 in both passing yards and touchdown passes in 2025.

However, Darnold has also thrown double-digit interceptions six times in eight years and led the league in fumbles and turnovers last year.

So a big raise also carries more than a little risk.

2. Lamar Jackson

AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar

Like you didn't know where these rankings were headed.

When he's at his best, Lamar Jackson isn't just a quality NFL starter or a star. He's arguably the most dangerous offensive weapon in the entire league.

No quarterback in league history has more rushing yards in a season than his 1,206 in 2019. No quarterback has more career rushing yards or multiple 1,000-yard seasons.

The 29-year-old is more than just a scrambler, too. In 2019, he led the league with 36 touchdown passes. His 8.25 air yards per attempt and 102.2 career passer rating lead all quarterbacks ever. He has twice been named the NFL's Most Valuable Player.

This is a guy almost every team in the NFL passed on in the draft. The last pick of Round 1 and the guy Hall of Fame executive Bill Polian thought should switch to wide receiver.

The issue is that we haven't seen Jackson at his best in a while. At least not consistently.

In three of the past five seasons, the Louisville product has missed at least four games due to injury, including four a year ago. He barely cleared 2,500 passing yards in 2025 and has thrown 25 touchdown passes just once in the past five seasons.

Perhaps most importantly, the rushing yards that were such an important component of what made Jackson so dangerous have vanished of late.

Last year, he averaged just 26.8 yards per game on the ground, far and away the fewest of his career. Maybe injuries played a part, but it's also possible that almost 1,100 career carries have taken their toll.

Jackson is under contract through 2027, but with a cap hit of $74.5 million in 2026, the Ravens have to find a way to lower that number.

And with Jackson reportedly heavily involved in the hiring of new Baltimore head coach Jesse Minter, that likely means an extension that will make him the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL.

1. Josh Allen

AP Foto/Jack Dempsey

Full disclosure—in 2018, this analyst had Josh Allen ranked fourth among quarterbacks behind Josh Rosen, Mayfield and Darnold.

That's right, Rosen was my QB1. At least I'm willing to admit when I get it wrong; I just wish it didn't happen so often.

Like Jackson, Allen has struggled to get over the hump and into the Super Bowl—Jackson is 3-5 in the postseason, while Allen is a slightly better 8-7.

But that's about the only real criticism to be found with Allen, and Buffalo's lack of postseason success is hardly solely his fault.

In eight seasons as Buffalo's starter, the No. 7 overall pick has amassed an impressive 88-39 record. He has thrown for just over 30,000 yards with 220 touchdown passes against just 98 interceptions while completing 64 percent of his passes.

Allen posted four straight 4,000-yard seasons from 2020 to 2023, and his reduction in passing yards the past two seasons is more of a reflection on Buffalo's offense than any drop-off in his play.

The Wyoming product is also a threat to hurt teams with his legs thanks to his 6'5", 237-pound frame. In seven of his professional seasons he has rushed for at least 500 yards, and if it's goal-to-go in close, forget about it—over the last three years, he has a whopping 41 rushing touchdowns. The only player with more over that span is Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry.

It's a close call between Jackson and Allen, as both are legitimate superstars. But with Patrick Mahomes on the shelf with an ACL tear, if you polled all 32 NFL general managers and told them they could have any QB to build their franchise around, Allen would be the choice.

Drafting him seventh overall in 2018 is why Bills GM Brandon Beane still has a job.