Five quarterbacks were chosen in the 1st-round of the 2018 NFL draft. Time to check in on their progress after week four, year four.
Three seasons in, Sam Darnold's NFL career had been a circus of highs and lows, illness and injury, and a very disappointing 2020 season.
A victory to begin his career. A promising close to Darnold's second season followed by a disastrous third had many wondering if he was going to fall hard. A trio of quarterbacks taken in the first round of the 2018 NFL draft were threatening to leave Darnold behind.
It's early yet in 2021, but Darnold is working his way back.
A change of scenery and a new offense has done wonders for Darnold. He and the Carolina Panthers have started the season 3-1, surprising a few folks in the process.
Darnold has started this season with some of the best numbers of his career. A season after only crossing the 200-yard mark four times (out of 12 games), Darnold has done that in every game so far. To top it off, he has passed for 300 or more yards three times this season. Darnold hadn't reached that since week 12 of the 2019 season, where he threw for 315 against the team formerly known as the Oakland Raiders.
In 2021, Darnold has thrown for 1189 yards, completing 67.8 percent of his passes with five touchdown passes and three interceptions. He has been sacked 11 times this season.
Getting it done on the ground has been a positive for Darnold, too, at least in the red zone. He has 52 rushing yards but has scored five times (tops in the NFL, if you're scoring at home).
Helping out Darnold are two receivers in D.J. Moore and Robby Anderson. Star running back Christian McCaffrey has been out most of the last two games but his talent makes any quarterback look better. And Darnold has benefited from a competent coach behind him.
Next 5 weeks: vs PHI (10/10), vs MIN (10/17), @NYG (10/24), @ATL (10/31), vs NE (11/7)
Darnold is not the only quarterback from this class leading his team to a fast start. Three of the other quarterbacks are a combined 9-3.
Josh Allen
Josh Allen stalled out of the gates in 2021, looking more like he did early in his career and not the near-MVP of 2020. Sure, he was playing a talented Pittsburgh Steelers defense but he threw the ball 51 times, completing only 30. Allen and the Bills were ineffective in the red zone as Buffalo lost 23-16.
Since then, the ship has been righted.
Buffalo is averaging 39.3 points per game and the defense has two shutouts, effectively only allowing 7 points on average the last three games as the Bills improved to 3-1.
Allen, too, has since found his touch. He was just under 50 percent in week 2 but has returned to form in weeks three and four. Allen has thrown for over 600 yards and six touchdowns the last two games, bringing his total to nine this season.
Overall, Allen has 1055 passing yards, completing 63.1 percent. He's added 129 yards on the ground but has only found the end zone once.
Fumbling has also returned to his bag of tricks, though he's only lost one this season. Protection has been good for Allen. After getting sacked three times against the Steelers, he's only been sacked twice since.
Allen will get an early-season test in week five's matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs. He will be looking for his first win against the Chiefs, something one of his fellow draft mates finally did this season.
Next 5 weeks: @KC (10/10), @TEN (10/18), Bye, vs MIA (10/31), @JAX (11/7)
Lamar Jackson
The Baltimore Ravens and Lamar Jackson finally got the Patrick Mahomes monkey off their back. It wasn't pretty and not quite a classic, but the Ravens won a back-and-forth affair in week two, defeating the Chiefs 36-35.
A week one overtime loss to the Las Vegas Raiders has been Baltimore's only blemish in the loss column so far this season.
Jackson has shouldered the load and has been passing more as the Ravens try to deal with an unsettled running back situation. Only once this season has Jackson attempted less than 30 passes and that was in a 18-26 performance against the Chiefs. Two of those eight incompletions were interceptions but he did more than enough to help propel the Ravens to victory.
Jackson passed for 239 yards that game and ran for 107, accounting for three total touchdowns.
On the season, Jackson has 1077 passing yards in completing 60.5 percent. Jackson had his first 300-yard game since week 1 of 2019, throwing for 316 yards in last week's 23-7 win over Denver. Jackson is also the team's leading-rushing with 279 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 6.6 yards per carry.
Jackson and the Ravens are blessed with playing their next four games at home, meaning they could very well be 7-1 when we check back in later this season.
Next 5 weeks: vs IND (10/11), vs LAC (10/17), vs CIN (10/24), Bye, vs MIN (11/7)
Baker Mayfield
Baker Mayfield has the Cleveland Browns off to a 3-1 start, winning three-straight after a narrow week one loss to Kansas City, 33-29.
Mayfield has had some uneven performances as the Browns rely on Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt in the ground game. Chubb and Hunt have combined 596 rushing yards.
Mayfield began the season locked in, completing 40 of 49 with one touchdown and two interceptions.
Though wide receiver Jarvis Landry is currently out with an injury, Odell Beckham Jr. did return to the lineup. Mayfield has struggled in those two games, going 34-64, though he hasn't tossed a pick. (A strong defense is also completing the Browns offensive attack, allowing only 13 points the last two weeks.)
Part of the issue is that Mayfield has been under pressure, getting sacked 12 times this season. And, it's also being reported he's been playing with a partially torn labrum since week 2.
Overall, the fourth-year quarterback has thrown for 935 yards and is still completing 65.5 percent. With a strong running game, Mayfield has only thrown two touchdown passes and also run one in on the ground.
A tough stretch awaits the Browns so Mayfield will need to play closer to the way he did the first two weeks of the season than the latter.
Next 5 weeks: @LAC (10/10), vs ARI (10/17), vs DEN (10/21), vs PIT (10/31), @CIN (11/7)
Josh Rosen
Josh Rosen remains the backup quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, who are off to a 1-3 start. Rosen did see some action in a 48-25 loss to Tampa Bay, attempting two passes with zero completions.
Next 5 weeks: vs NYJ (10/10), Bye, @MIA (10/24), vs CAR (10/31), @NO (11/7)
Be sure to follow along with this series, with the next update coming after the week nine slate of games.
photo credit: flickr
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