How would you rank the QBs of the 2018 NFL draft today in hindsight?

[TigerJ]

That's difficult to do.  What I think is that the Ravens did a brilliant job of matching a QB's skill set to an offensive coordinator.  Lamar Jackson is the perfect QB for Greg Roman's offensive system and vice versa.   If it wasn't a strategic decision, John Harbaugh might just be the luckiest head coach in the league.  I don't think Cleveland''s loss to open the season is any kind of indication that Baker Mayfield isn't going to be really good.  I am also becoming more and more convinced that Josh Allen has what it takes to be a really good starting NFL QB.  Mason Rudolph and Josh Rosen get incompletes at this point in time.  Josh Rosen is as unlucky as Lamar Jackson is lucky.  Jackson landed with a solid team and is now with the perfect OC for his skill set while Josh Rosen went from one train wreck to another..  That's not his fault.  Mason Rudolph went to a good situation in Pittsburgh, with time to sit and learn behind one of the great QBs in the league.  Now he's got 14 games to prove he can play and start in the league.  

[Victory Formation]

19 minutes ago, Real McCoy said:

It's not a love affair when a rookie takes your team to the playoffs last year and came damn near close to beating the Chargers in the playoffs. Then opens up the season with such strong performances. The dude has a 8-1 record,  he just wins games. 

 

He's basically the QB Tyrod wishes he could become someday. 

 

 

Now, now. Remember one thing, my friend. Lamar went to a team where a winning culture was established already. The other QBs went to teams who were not stablished yet. 

 

Not saying Lamar is bad but he walked into a golden atmosphere.

[billspro]

1 hour ago, Sunshower said:

I am going to cautiously say that you are right. I wouldn’t trade Allen for Mayfield even and he was ranked pretty much unilaterally as everyone’s top QB.

 

Why would I say this? Well because twice yesterday I witnessed Allen sprint full speed to his right and throw two darts on the move, right on the money for 20 yards. The wow factor is off the charts and unbelievable with this guy. I am super biased but from a sheer entertainment value, Allen is one of the most entertaining players in the NFL. The way he plays is just fun. When you sprinkle in Singletary it certainly makes Sundays for us Bills fans enjoyable.

 

Your assessment of Lamar may be accurate, may not be. Personally I’m going to shove my foot in my mouth before I say another bad thing about him. He made his arrival known twice so far this year as a passer. I think I uh done did it when I said he’d be a bust. 

 

In closing, Lamar and Baker have both had F U arrival games in their careers. Just an undeniable F U to the league that they are dominant NFL QBs. Allen has had many, many, many plays like that but we’ve yet to see an entire domination over the course of an entire game, so with that said I have to rank him #3 right now (objectively), but it would not shock me even a tiny bit if he turns into the top dog alpha QB of the 2018 class, it’s entirely possible. I wouldn’t trade him for any player in the NFL.

 

Lamar has looked exceptional so far. I don’t think he has even faced a top 20 defence yet in his career. I expected him to feast on bottom half defences because of his exceptional running ability. I’m interested to see how he does against better defences. So far his passing has far exceeded expectations this year. 

[GunnerBill]

I had them:

 

1. Rosen

2. Darnold

3. Mayfield

4. Rudolph

5. Jackson

6. Allen

 

If you had to rank them based on what they have done on the NFL field right now then you would rank them:

 

1. Mayfield

2. Jackson

3. Allen

4. Darnold

5. Rosen

6. Rudolph (just on lack of opportunity)

 

If I had to rank on how likely I think they are to be NFL franchise QBs projecting moving forward:

 

1. Allen

2. Mayfield

3. Darnold

4. Rudolph

5. Jackson

6. Rosen (though I absolutely do not think this is his fault) 

[Rob's House]

As of right now LamaRG3 is the man. 

 

Still early though. Allen may prove to be the prize when it's all said and done.

 

This many games into his career the original RG3 was the man.

 

[Real McClappy]

27 minutes ago, Sunshower said:

Now, now. Remember one thing, my friend. Lamar went to a team where a winning culture was established already. The other QBs went to teams who were not stablished yet. 

 

Not saying Lamar is bad but he walked into a golden atmosphere.

Jackson was bashed by several posters on this board and by media just like Allen was pre-draft.  I'm just glad both are making the so called "experts" look like fools now. 

Your def right about a winning culture over there in Balt. it's took some big balls to move on from Flacco for a Rookie. 

 

 

[Doc Brown]

Give me them in this order long term.  Jackson's had a great start to the year but a small framed scrambling quarterback long term usually doesn't work out in the NFL.  RG3 and Kaepernick come to mind.  

 

Baker

Allen

Darnold

Lamar

Rosen

 

[Victory Formation]

12 minutes ago, Real McCoy said:

Jackson was bashed by several posters on this board and by media just like Allen was pre-draft.  I'm just glad both are making the so called "experts" look like fools now. 

Your def right about a winning culture over there in Balt. it's took some big balls to move on from Flacco for a Rookie. 

 

 

No doubt, no doubt.

[Ethan in Cleveland]

As of today based on two seasons of performance:

Mayfield

Jackson

Allen

Darnold

Rosen

 

By this time next year:

Allen

Jackson

Mayfield

Rosen

Darnold

 

I've never been a Darnold fan. And Rosen was my #2 after Allen. I think Rosen will put up some decent stats the rest of the season, even if much of it is garbage time. 

[thebandit27]

49 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

I had them:

 

1. Rosen

2. Darnold

3. Mayfield

4. Rudolph

5. Jackson

6. Allen

 

If you had to rank them based on what they have done on the NFL field right now then you would rank them:

 

1. Mayfield

2. Jackson

3. Allen

4. Darnold

5. Rosen

6. Rudolph (just on lack of opportunity)

 

If I had to rank on how likely I think they are to be NFL franchise QBs projecting moving forward:

 

1. Allen

2. Mayfield

3. Darnold

4. Rudolph

5. Jackson

6. Rosen (though I absolutely do not think this is his fault) 

 

Wow.

 

Knowing your history, and seeing this post, I am shocked that you're this high on Allen this soon!

 

Any homerism in there, or just straight analysis?

 

Asking because it's so darn difficult to get that far away from a draft grade that I've worked up over months, but I've had to do it before (thinking specifically of Dak), so I'm curious as to how you deal with that?

[Alphadawg7]

IMO...rookie year doesn't mean much to the long term play.  A guy can start hot and fizzle as the league figures him out, or a guy can be more raw and really hit his stride in years 2 or 3 instead.  

 

If I was to treat the ranking like a weekly stock exchange, Baker falls to #3 IMO because the most recent body of work was that much worse than Lamar and Allen...and I am a Fan of Baker and have been since last years CFB season when people kept telling me he wont go any higher than the 2nd round at best.  

 

But Baker had a rough preseason, albeit thats not really a fair barometer, but still has to be noted considering his week 1 game was more of what we saw from him in his last preseason game.  Meanwhile, Allen and Lamar have really shown some great progress compared to last year.  I would rank them this way on a scale that can adjust and change weekly as the season goes on...

 

Honestly, I don't think a lot separates the top 3 right now...they are very close IMO in how to be ranked, and one could argue in order of the 3.  Here is how I would do it if this was a weekly stock exchange kind of accounting:

 

1 - Lamar:  Lead your team to the playoffs as a rookie, be raved about all offseason, and then start the first 2 weeks off this way earns a guy the top spot.  Doesn't matter if someone doesn't believe he can hold it long term, right now, he's been the best QB of the group thus far this year and helped get his team to the playoffs last year.  

2 - Allen:  A very close 2nd to Lamar, and I suspect as the season plays on that Lamar will come back a little from where he has been at against 2 terrible defenses and Allen will continue to get stronger from where he is at right now.  

3 - Baker:  Unfair to do this ranking before his 2nd game, but until we see him again, he cant be ranked higher than Lamar or Allen right now who have been impressive thus far.   Baker has a good night tonight, he makes a case for the top 2 again.  

4 - Darnold:  Kind of gets this spot be default IMO, and we won't know what to make of him until he gets over Mono now. 

5 - Rudolph:  Going to get to see what he can do now, but he has showed some potential.

6 - Rosen:  I think its pretty clear why he is below everyone else...he was always the wrong Josh.  

[DCOrange]

3 hours ago, MJS said:

What was your ranking of Jackson before the season? After two games against two of the worst teams in the NFL you are willing to vault him to the top of the list?

 

Jackson was IMO the 2nd best QB prospect to come along since Andrew Luck. My rankings haven't changed since the start of the season besides maybe bumping Darnold down out of a tie with Allen for #3.

[Reed83HOF]

3 hours ago, BuffaloHokie13 said:

I put some of this year on Roman. What will be telling is how he handles progressing in the offense. That is where Kaep and Tyrod, to a lesser extent, failed. Roman will keep progressing the scheme and playbook and the limiting factor will eventually be what Lamar can realistically handle. 

Overall, this is way too early, but I will play along...

 

I was a Rosen guy all the way through and I was wrong on Allen. Rosen still has a shot, but he has been on 2 lousy teams, with lousy OL and lousy OCs - I feel bad for him because I still think he could be successful.

 

Baker was a tad too cocky for my likes and a tad short (I know, I know).

 

Lamar is electric with the ball in his hands as I think everyone has seen. I know what Roman is capable of doing as an OC from his previous QBs with somewhat similar skill sets, for me let's see what he does once he is forced to be solely a QB, just as Kaep and TT were forced to. When he has to stay in the pocket and make the correct readsand get the ball to that guy, that is when his book will be written. Is this truly the combination of the Roman shine and his current skillset vs. him just being that damn good; my $$ is on the former at this point.

[Billsatlastin2018]

At this juncture...

 

1. Jackson

 

Below...

2. Mayfield

 

Further below...

3. Allen

 

significantly below... 

4. Darnold

 

TRASH! 

5. Rudolph

6. Rosen

[RocCityRoller]

Pre Draft:

 

1) Mayfield - moxy, swagger, live arm. Walk on to Heisman.

2) Rudolph - looked like an NFL QB leading a very dangerous college offense, some physical limitations (yep I had Rudolph #2)

3) Darnold - same as above but with a lot more turnovers and no physical limits as a pure passer

4) Allen - highest ceiling, highest risk, sub par competition (reminded me of JP Losman)

5) Rosen - I wrote blistering attacks about him. Talented in the right situation, me first, not a team guy, injury prone

6) Jackson - best athlete of the bunch, worst QB from an NFL perspective

7) Lauletta

 

As of today:

 

1) Mayfield - had a very strong rookie season and laid a turd in week 1. He will feast on the Jets. Still feel the same about him

2) Allen/ Jackson - have done the work in the offseason and have taken advantage of soft schedules, their athleticism, and they both have OCs helping bring out the best in them. This tie will be broken when the schedules get harder and defenses see more film on the offenses they are running.

3) Darnold - good QB, bad situation

DNQ) Rosen and Rudolph - Rosen and Allen both had garbage at OL and WR in year 1. Still not looking good for Rosen. Rudolph has 14 games to show what he has on a still talented Steelers team, though the run game may be bad without Conner. Will know more about both after the season.

 

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

[BisonMan]

I take the long view on these players. A few games or a rookie season doesn’t tell you much. Based on personal makeup, physical skills, intelligence and coaching, my list goes like this:

 

1. Allen - the dude is off-the-charts physically for a QB and can make all the throws. He will have a perpetual chip on his shoulders after every college passed on him his Freshman year and all but one did the second time around. All the doubters pre-draft just added fuel to his fire. He’s obviously very smart and has a stable regime behind him. I hope Dabol doesn’t get a HC gig in the next few years.

2. Mayfield - moxie with physical talent to throw accurately. He’s a bit more limited than Allen and makes a lot of throws out of arrogance, leading to picks. He could end up a star, ala, Favre but could end up like Jeff George.

3. Darnold - solid starter with above average skills across the board. Appears pretty smart and capable of reeling in his poor tendencies. Coaching upheaval could derail his career early along with the NYC spotlight. He might end up above Mayfield on my list.

4. Jackson - To me, he’s Kaepernick 2.0. The SF offense under Roman took similar advantage of the physical tools, especially running. He’s refined those aspects of his offense but, ultimately, these types of systems get QBs injured. Kaepernick was more sturdy than Jackson so I doubt Jackson will last as long. Of course, Kaepernick almost won a SB with a Harbaugh coaching him!

5. Rosen - I think he’s very smart but lacks the fire and commitment to be a leader of a team. Jay Cutler without the physical skills. Rosen will make less mistakes given a decent line and WR corp. His physical skills will betray him down the line along with his waning interest in putting his body on the line week after week. His best outcome at this point will be a trade from Miami to be a backup behind an aging veteran where he an learn...and heal. 

[H2o]

Right now I got it like this:

 

1. Mayfield

2. Allen

3. Jackson

4. Darnold

5. Rudolph

6. Rosen

 

Mayfield is still the top QB right now imo. People just love to hate the guy for some reason. Had an excellent rookie year and can make every throw. Allen has made a nice 2nd year leap thus far, shown vast improvement behind a stabilized OL, and has already proven himself clutch. Still not sold on Jackson even though he's had a couple of good weeks throwing the ball, but right now he's looking better than Darnold. I want to see him against better teams with more on the line before I take a bite of the crow. Can he throw the ball against a legit defense when it matters? Roman knows how to get the most out of these types and LJ is the best overall athlete he's had to work with out of Smith, Kaep, and Tyrod. Right now his trajectory is on the way up. I thought before the draft that Darnold was another over-hyped USC QB and I still feel that way. When he's under pressure he rattles and becomes as inaccurate as a backup not named Barkley. Rudolph in his action last week already looked better than Rosen through all of the time he's played. Rosen, man what happened. He still has time and he has all of the physical tools. I wonder if he ends up like Trent Edwards or David Carr due to the beating he has taken already. Starting for Miami is not going to help him physically or his psyche either. 

[formerlyofCtown]

8 hours ago, Sunshower said:

I think as of now it’d look like:

 

1. Baker

2. Lamar

3. Allen

4. Darnold

5. Rudolph

6. Rosen

 

Obviously I think this has shaped out to be a pretty darn good group of QBs. I think Allen could potentially be the best QB of that class but I never expected Lamar to be so good, what a shocker! I had to put him #2 but he could simply be hot water, who knows?

Baker

Allen

Lamar

Rudolph

Darnold

Rosen

 

Pre-draft

Baker

Allen

Rudolph

Lamar

 

Other 2 not on my board.

[formerlyofCtown]

1 hour ago, Billsatlastin2018 said:

At this juncture...

 

1. Jackson

 

Below...

2. Mayfield

 

Further below...

3. Allen

 

significantly below... 

4. Darnold

 

TRASH! 

5. Rudolph

6. Rosen

Rudolph didnt look like trash yesterday.  What are you basing your analysis on.

[VW82]

Not sure how I'd rank Allen, Jackson, and Darnold at this stage as they're all pretty close but I do think Baker is way ahead. He has the biggest floor and ceiling of those four. Downgrading him based on one lackluster half of preseason (he was reportedly great in camp and had a perfect QB rating in the only other preseason game he played in) and one regular season game after putting up 4000+ yards and 28 TDs as a rookie with little to no help on offense and with one of the worst coaching situations in recent memory...that just doesn't make any sense. 

 

Baker is a stud. I fully expect the Browns to make the playoffs and wouldn't be surprised to see him make the pro bowl this year. Allen looks like a stud too but he still has a ways to go.

Edited September 17, 2019 by VW82

[CincyBillsFan]

For me it's to early to rank them but some observations:

 

*  Highest upside = Josh Allen

 

*  Most unlucky = Josh Rosen.  Being on TWO dumpster fire teams in his first year.  Are you kidding me!  Next most unlucky = Sam Darnold.  Mono!

 

*  Biggest enigma = Lamar Jackson. This guy has been a far better passer then most people thought he would be.  But how much is Jackson and how much is the scheme?  Trent Dilfer made the point that in almost all of Jackson's  TD passes the receivers were "high school open".  That suggests scheme but who knows.

 

*  Most likely to have a Sophomore Slump = Baker Mayfield.  To be fair to Mayfield you have to have had a good rookie season to actually have a slump.

 

 

 

 

[Doc Brown]

1 hour ago, DCOrange said:

 

Jackson was IMO the 2nd best QB prospect to come along since Andrew Luck. My rankings haven't changed since the start of the season besides maybe bumping Darnold down out of a tie with Allen for #3.

Let me guess.  The 1st best was Mahomes.

[GunnerBill]

11 hours ago, thebandit27 said:

 

Wow.

 

Knowing your history, and seeing this post, I am shocked that you're this high on Allen this soon!

 

Any homerism in there, or just straight analysis?

 

Asking because it's so darn difficult to get that far away from a draft grade that I've worked up over months, but I've had to do it before (thinking specifically of Dak), so I'm curious as to how you deal with that?

 

My reason is that I have a pretty clear idea what I think wins in the NFL. You simply have to be able to move the ball consistently from the pocket in that intermediate range. That means quick decisive decision making and good ball placement. I always said with Allen that his ceiling was sky high. I knew he could make sensational throws on the run like the ones he made on Sunday. I knew he had an all world arm. I knew he had a gunslinger attitude. I missed a little bit on his legs and I have said that since last year. Had I properly appreciated his ability with his legs it would have significantly raised his floor as I saw it and I'd have had him right there with Lamar Jackson. What I didn't like on his college tape was the thing I value the most - quick, decisive and precise in that intermediate range. The balls that are NFL chain movers.

 

I know some people love seeing the QB throw the deep ball on a frozen rope 60 yards for the touchdown. But what I love more than anything else is to see a Quarterback take command, and metriculate the ball down the field on a 10, 12, 15 play drive for a touchdown.

 

I always felt that if Josh could get there with that then the potential was special. I said that repeatedly in draft season before the 2018 Draft. He ceiling was high, but to me the chances of him reaching it were low because I think you have to be able to do the things I didn't like on his college tape. And I also felt his floor was low - because if he didn't have those chain moving throws he was going to be an all or nothing guy every drive. To me he has proven in the last two weeks that he can lead those sorts of drives. He had four on Sunday he had two last Sunday and he had another two last Sunday where slightly random crazy fumbles undermined him. If that is real and not just a consequence of playing two bad New York teams (and I am inclined to think it is.... maybe that is where any homerism comes in?) then we have ourselves a Quarterback. And not just one who can be a top 10 top 12 guy but one who can potentially be elite. I'm not saying I believe he will be elite yet.... but based on what I have seen I do now believe he will be a franchise QB.

 

As for the others.... I like Baker's play. I don't love Baker's personality. That just worries me that at some point he becomes a distraction. Jackson I still haven't seen do the very thing I have talked about above. He is making a living on short quick hitters and deep balls at the moment. I liked Rudolph's game on Sunday. The reason I was higher on Rudolph than almost everyone was precisely because his college tape DID show a guy who was decisive and accurate on those intermediate range NFL chain movers. He demonstrated some of that on Sunday too (and the INT was an horrific drop from Moncreif who was immediately benched) and I am really interested to see how he does now with a real run as the starter. Darnold was trending up at the end of last year but was affected by the mono week 1 and is now out for a period of time. Rosen it is almost impossible to make a definitive decision on given he has been in two awful situations. But unless something dramatic happens then after this year his career is in jeopardy - no doubt.

 

 

Edited September 17, 2019 by GunnerBill

[DCOrange]

10 hours ago, Doc Brown said:

Let me guess.  The 1st best was Mahomes.

That is correct.

[hemma]

Allen is getting a chance to continue to improve by virtue of the much improved OL and a couple of very competent receivers.

 

 

Beane had a close to perfect offseason.

 

 

[Fan in Chicago]

13 hours ago, Alphadawg7 said:

 

1 - Lamar:  Lead your team to the playoffs as a rookie, be raved about all offseason, and then start the first 2 weeks off this way earns a guy the top spot.  Doesn't matter if someone doesn't believe he can hold it long term, right now, he's been the best QB of the group thus far this year and helped get his team to the playoffs last year.  

2 - Allen:  A very close 2nd to Lamar, and I suspect as the season plays on that Lamar will come back a little from where he has been at against 2 terrible defenses and Allen will continue to get stronger from where he is at right now.  

3 - Baker:  Unfair to do this ranking before his 2nd game, but until we see him again, he cant be ranked higher than Lamar or Allen right now who have been impressive thus far.   Baker has a good night tonight, he makes a case for the top 2 again.  

4 - Darnold:  Kind of gets this spot be default IMO, and we won't know what to make of him until he gets over Mono now. 

5 - Rudolph:  Going to get to see what he can do now, but he has showed some potential.

6 - Rosen:  I think its pretty clear why he is below everyone else...he was always the wrong Josh.  

 

This is pretty fair. I havent seen Lamar play so cant tell his skills compared to Allen's. Allen has looked very good after that disastrous first half vs the Jets.

 

Having seen Baker spottily in his first game this season and then last night, I am very skeptical about how well he will do in the future. Also, having seen Darnold's games, I jst get the feeling he lacks the "it" factor. He is bland, makes many throws but is highly uninspiring. I realize this is a highly non-quantitative take but I can easily see him slide further once he sees the field.

 

This is a good take on Mayfield's showing last night: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000001055959/article/what-we-learned-from-browns-win-over-jets-on-mnf

 

"4. Beckham's breakout night aside, Cleveland's offense was unsteady and uninspiring for the second straight week. Mayfield was sailing passes against a subpar Jets secondary, no one east of Odell could make plays in the passing game and the Browns were a woeful 4-for-13 on third downs. Baker threw the 18th interception of his young career with the Browns driving and the game in hand by forcing a speedball in the middle of the field. The miscue reeked of an overconfident gunslinger failing to manage the game correctly. Cleveland's attack has a long way to go to reach its offseason potential. Lucky for them, there are still 14 more opportunities to improve."

 

Rudolph and Rosen - we dont have enough data to know one way or another.  

 

As I have said before, I just love the fact that so many (potentially) good to great QBs have entered the league in the past 3 years. Very exciting to see the future of the NFL in their hands. Ofcourse, I will hope that Allen turns out to be the one with the most rings, but we all should be looking forward to several good QB battles in the years ahead. 

[DCOrange]

Re: Baker, I don't know what Cleveland is doing offensively just from a systematic standpoint. They seem to be swinging for a home run on every play instead of using Odell and Landry's ability to generate separation immediately to generate quick and easy yardage. Combine the focus on longer-developing plays with their porous offensive line and you have the makings of screwing up what should be a good offense.

 

And I think they made a mistake trading Zeitler for Olivier Vernon. With Zeitler and Bitonio, they could have at least had two very good guards on the O-Line. Now they're left at a weakness with 4 of their 5 blockers.

[Kirby Jackson]

14 minutes ago, DCOrange said:

Re: Baker, I don't know what Cleveland is doing offensively just from a systematic standpoint. They seem to be swinging for a home run on every play instead of using Odell and Landry's ability to generate separation immediately to generate quick and easy yardage. Combine the focus on longer-developing plays with their porous offensive line and you have the makings of screwing up what should be a good offense.

 

And I think they made a mistake trading Zeitler for Olivier Vernon. With Zeitler and Bitonio, they could have at least had two very good guards on the O-Line. Now they're left at a weakness with 4 of their 5 blockers.

The Browns should snap the ball a little later in the play clock. I mean last night they left a full second on there about a dozen times. 

[GunnerBill]

Just watched Baltimore - Arizona. That is the best I have seen Lamar play too. 

[Seven-N-Nine]

If Jackson wins against Mahomes this weekend, he moves to the top.