Assessing All Five First-Round Rookie Quarterbacks After Five Weeks

Five quarterbacks were selected in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft and they will forever be compared to each other. All five are unique, bring different skills to the table and could all wind up being successful in the NFL.

While all five were selected with top picks, almost no one predicted that by Week 5, four of them would be starting. Well, that’s the case, which means we won’t have to wait to evaluate their development.

Here’s a look at how all five quarterbacks are doing so far.

Baker Mayfield, Cleveland Browns

We’ll start with the No. 1 pick, who took over under center for the Browns midway through the team’s Week 3 matchup with the Jets and hasn’t looked back. Baker Mayfield has been up and down so far this season, but the 23-year-old has shown a ton of promise.

Overall, Mayfield has completed 63 of 107 passes (58.9 percent), for 838 yards, with three touchdowns and three interceptions. His quarterback rating (81.4) is below average, but his Total QBR of 60.9 ranks 12th in the league.

Against the Jets he provided a spark, leading the Browns to their first win in almost two years. He completed 17 of 23 passes for 201 yards and was clutch after coming in when Tyrod Taylor left with an injury.

In his first start against the Raiders, it was an up and down performance, as he completed just 51.2 percent of his passes and two interceptions to go along with his two touchdowns. The Browns lost in overtime, then he led them to a win in overtime over the Ravens in Week 5.

Against the Ravens, Mayfield completed 58.1 percent of his passes for 342 yards, with a touchdown and an interception. He made some difficult throws and led his team to a win.

Mayfield has shown improvement but has also been shaky. It’s been a mixed bag so far but he’s provided a spark to Cleveland’s offense. As he gets more comfortable he should continue to improve.

Sam Darnold, New York Jets

Sam Darnold and the New York Jets have had a schizophrenic first season together. The third pick in this year’s draft won the starting quarterback job out of training camp and actually shined in his debut. Since then things have looked rocky, but in Week 5 the USC product flashed as well as he has since reaching the league.

So far on the season, Darnold has completed 55.7 percent of his passes, for 1,066 yards, with seven touchdowns and six interceptions. His passer rating (77.2) and Total QBR (32.8) are both woeful. But those numbers don’t truly tell the whole story of his season.

In the opener against the Detroit Lions, Darnold led the Jets to a 48-17 win, while completing 16 of 21 passes for 198 yards and two touchdowns. That all happened despite throwing a pick-six on his first professional pass.

Three weeks of struggles followed as the Jets lost three straight and Darnold threw four interceptions against just two touchdowns. Then he and Gang Green shocked everyone in Week 5.

Against the Denver Broncos on Sunday, Darnold only completed 10 of 22 passes, but he had three touchdowns — and on each he made an excellent throw. That helped the Jets pull off a stunning 34-16 upset.

Darnold doesn’t have many weapons at his disposal and the Jets have a woeful offensive line. Despite that, he’s shown flashes of the tremendous promise he’s always had. The guy can drop dimes when he has time and he’s on the same page with his targets. The fact that he’s still just 21 should make every Jets fan incredibly excited.

Now it’s on the Jets to surround Darnold with quality playmakers and an offensive line that can actually block someone.

Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills

When Josh Allen was selected with the seventh pick in the 2018 draft, most expected the Buffalo Bills to sit him for a while. That lasted all of one game, as Allen became the team’s starting quarterback in Week 2 of the season. The results since have been mixed.

Allen has played in five games this season and has completed 65 of 122 passes (53.3 percent) for 748 yards, with two touchdowns and five interceptions. He has also rushed for 135 yards and three touchdowns, but has three fumbles. His quarterback rating (60.4) and Total QBR (27.0) are both horrific. He’s also been sacked 19 times (13.5% of his dropbacks) in 4.5 games, and is on pace to join David Carr, Tim Couch, Blake Bortles, and Jake Plummer as rookies who were sacked at least 50 times.

Despite those startlingly bad stats, Allen has led to Bills to wins over the Minnesota Vikings and Tennessee Titans. His numbers against the Vikings were good, as he completed 15 of 22 passes for 196 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for 38 yards and two more scores. There has been little else encouraging this season for the big Wyoming product.

There’s no doubt Allen has lived up to his billing as a supremely athletic, perfectly built quarterback. He has a cannon for an arm and can move well despite being 6’5″ and carrying 237 pounds. But accuracy, which was a knock coming into the draft, has been a huge struggle for him and it will take a lot of work for him to improve.

The Bills are terrible and Allen has been put into an awful situation. He’s a guy who needed time on the bench to develop, but the Bills simply don’t have a better option under center. He’s going to have to learn under pressure, which is a dangerous proposition for a young quarterback.

Josh Rosen, Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals selected Josh Rosen with the 10th pick in 2018 and planned to sit him behind Sam Bradford this season. As with Allen and Mayfield, that didn’t last long. Rosen stepped in for Bradford in Week 3 and was named the starter by Week 4.

In three games (two starts), Rosen has completed 29 of 59 passes (49.2 percent), for 386 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception. Both his quarterback rating (74.5) and Total QBR (63.5) aren’t great.

Rosen did lead the Cardinals to their first win of the season in Week 5, but he struggled. He completed just 10 of 25 passes for 170 yards and a touchdown. Unfortunately, 75 yards of that total came on one play.

After that it wasn’t a great start.

Rosen has shown flashes and clearly has the polish to be an NFL quarterback. But it’s also clear he’s not comfortable at this level yet. He should get better as the season goes along, but expect the rocky performances to continue until he settles in.

Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens shocked everyone when they snagged Lamar Jackson with the 32nd pick in the draft and they have stuck with the plan to develop him slowly.

Jackson has seen the field in each of Baltimore’s games this season as a special package player, but has only thrown five passes (completing one for 24 yards). He does have 16 rushes for 72 yards though.

Obviously it’s hard to draw any conclusions from that limited action. The Ravens are 3-2 and Joe Flacco is entrenched as their starter right now, so it’s unlikely Jackson will see repeated reps under center this season.

During the preseason, Jackson showed some promise with both his legs and his arm, but it was hard to really learn much about his development.

While the other four quarterbacks have all earned starting jobs already, Jackson will likely be waiting a while.