It's been quite the year for the 2018 quarterback class
By Andy Davies
As Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen sneaked for a first down gain to secure victory over the New England Patriots as time expired on Sunday, it moved them to 12-3 and kept them in contention for the number one seed.
Whilst it was not a vintage Allen performance, with one touchdown, one interception and only 154 yards, it is one that championship teams have to go through, winning games ugly. After going 14-0 down, he relied on running back James Cook who recorded two total touchdowns.
It might have been one of his worst performances this season, but it has been quite the year for Allen as he stands as the MVP favourite.
He may be ninth for passing yards and sixth for passing touchdowns, but he has just six interceptions and 11 rushing touchdowns. Only Jalen Hurts, Derek Carr, Russell Wilson, Lamar Jackson, Justin Herbert and Cooper Rush have played significant time and thrown for less interceptions and Hurts is the only quarterback with more rushing touchdowns than Allen.
Furthermore, Allen did not throw for an interception until the 27th of October and only has recorded one in his last four games, a period where he has also thrown for eight touchdowns.
It has been quite the year for the seventh overall pick in 2018, a quarterback class that is having quite the year.
The Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold resurgence

For a while, the 2018 class was seen as a poor draft class for quarterbacks a couple of years, with only two of the first five actually having established good NFL careers.
Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold both suffered from inconsistencies in the first four to five years of their careers. Taken first overall by the Cleveland Browns in 2018, Mayfield had a promising rookie season, with 27 touchdowns and 14 interceptions and coming off the bench to guid3 them to their first win in 19. However, he would then have one bad season for every good season.
2019’s disaster under new head coach Freddie Kitchens saw them win just six games despite the offseason hype where they acquired Odell Beckham Jr. Mayfield threw for 22 touchdowns and 21 interceptions but followed this up by recording 26 touchdowns to just eight interceptions with new Kevin Stefanski taking over from Kitchens. They earned their first playoff win since the 1994 season, their first postseason berth since 2002.
Despite this, a season where they narrowly missed out on the AFC Championship game, the problems came back in 2021, as the Browns went 6-8 and Mayfield threw for 17 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He requested a trade after the team traded for Deshaun Watson. He was sent to the Carolina Panthers but he was gone by early December. After a brief stint with the Los Angeles Rams, Mayfield signed a one-year $4 million deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The cost and length of deal speaks volumes as to how little the front office had faith in Baker. He was seen as a bridge quarterback but instead has become the future of the franchise.
Guilty of immaturity earlier in his career, Mayfield is a completely transformed character. Many felt for him when he was shipped out of Cleveland and his return to form has been welcomed by so many NFL fans. He once again came agonisingly close to making the Championship game as Tampa Bay fell short against the Detroit Lions but he has excelled to even greater heights in 2024. In two seasons (31 games), he has recorded 60 touchdowns to just 24 interceptions.
Not many expected Mayfield to perform at the heights he has done and the Buccaneers have managed to avoid the post-Tom Brady struggles.
Sam Darnold’s resurgence has been even more impressive. After being drafted third overall by the New York Jets, he struggled in New Jersey and was traded to the Panthers.
Like Mayfield, Darnold also struggled in Carolina and spent time last season with the San Francisco 49ers as the backup to Brock Purdy. He came close to winning the Super Bowl as the QB2 but this would have felt hollow, given the fact he only started one game that season. He joined the Minnesota Vikings earlier this year with the view of being a bridge quarterback to rookie JJ McCarthy.
However, McCarthy suffered a season ending injury before Week One and Darnold stepped in. He has been electric, currently ranking sixth in the NFL for passing yards and fifth for passing touchdowns. Forming a brilliant partnership with wide receivers Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, he has managed to take his game to a whole new level beside head coach Kevin Stefanski. He is successfully throwing deep balls, looks comfortable in the pocket and escaping it.
The Vikings have lost just two games all season, but yet there’s a good chance that unless they beat the Lions on the final day, they will have to go through the postseason as a Wildcard team. This is despite currently having the joint second-best record in the entire NFL. Alongside a brilliant defense, this Viking offense led by Darnold has the ability to beat anyone on their day. A Super Bowl run would be the feel-good story of the season for someone that Aaron Rodgers called “one of the good guys” at his London post-game press conference.
Allen fixing his weaknesses

The aforementioned MVP calibre performances for Allen only seemed a distant reality after his first two seasons. With 10 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in his rookie season and 20 touchdowns to nine interceptions in his sophomore year, the stock was not high on Allen.
Stefon Diggs arrived in the 2020 offseason and Allen’s performances massively improved. He recorded 37 touchdowns that year, 36 in 2021, 35 in 2022 and 29 in 2023. However, when Diggs left for the Houston Texans in the offseason, many thought Allen would regress and the Bills would suffer. However, is has been quite the opposite as if anything, he has elevated his game to even greater heights.
With two just games left, he has only six interceptions, a massive improvement on his 18 in 2023 and 15 in 2021. He has fixed the one issue that was holding him back. If the Bills fix their defense, they may be the complete team.
Lamar Jackson: MV3?

It takes a special player to win the Most Valuable Player Award. It takes something else to win two. Jackson has been on a tear since being drafted 32nd overall by the Baltimore Ravens in 2018. He will for sure be in the running for the award again this year as he aims to win his third. Whether it is the spin move rushing touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals in 2019, his throw against the same opponent in Week Five this season or his 442 passing yards against the Colts in October 2021, he has not been short of career highlights.
With 3,787 yards, 37 touchdowns and four interceptions, it has been an excellent season once again for Lamar, and with Derrick Henry to now hand the ball off to, this offers him an extremely reliable security blanket.
Whilst he, along with Allen, has failed to get over the playoff hump, there is a quiet feeling that this could be the year he ends those criticisms just like Josh Elway and Peyton Manning did.
Josh Rosen’s struggles

Not everyone has succeeded in this draft class. Josh Rosen was one of the most hyped-up quarterbacks going into that 2018 draft, with half of the noise coming from the man himself. In his pre-draft video, he said he was coming for Tom Brady’s six rings and after being drafted tenth overall by the Arizona Cardinals, he spoke of there being “nine mistakes made ahead of him”.
His career has not gone to plan at all. He has played for seven teams in the NFL but has only played in 24 games across these seven seasons, with his last appearance coming in 2021. Three of those seven teams have also used a first rounder on a quarterback the year after playing him.
He was unlucky with the Cardinals. Whilst his 11 touchdowns and 14 interceptions during his 2018 rookie year was not brilliant, a lot of quarterbacks have struggled in their first year, as seen with Peyton Manning, and many quarterbacks mentioned in this article. Steve Wilks, the head coach who drafted him, was out the door after one year. He was replaced by Kliff Kingsbury, who took Kyler Murray with the pick. He went to the Miami Dolphins who were in tank mode and after one touchdown and five interceptions, he was gone after the season and was already on his third team in as many years. He has not started a game since.
Rosen is showing no signs of coming back into the NFL and he is said to be studying at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Whilst Rosen has struggled, the 2018 draft class has proved to be one of grit and determination, with a good chance someone in this article may end up with a ring in February.

ANDY DAVIES
NFL ANALYST
ANDY IS A SPORTS JOURNALISM GRADUATE WITH OVER FOUR YEARS EXPERIENCE OF NFL WRITING AND PODCASTING. ANDY HAS BEEN TO EVERY NFL STADIUM AND IS THE HOST OF THE ACROSS THE POD PODCAST. HE HAS PRESS PASS EXPERIENCE AT THE LONDON GAMES AND MANY OTHER NFL BASED EVENTS, HAVING INTERVIEWED THE LIKES OF AARON RODGERS, JASON BELL, OSI UMENYIORA, DOUG PEDERSON, DERRICK HENRY, TREVOR LAWRENCE AND MIKE VRABEL