Embarking on their seventh-year in the league, four quarterbacks drafted in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft will be starting. The fifth quarterback's whereabouts are unknown.
Okay. It is not that ominous for Josh Rosen. But quick searches on the internet do not show him playing football professionally (in any number of leagues).
The other four quarterbacks - Josh Allen, Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield, and Lamar Jackson - will lead their respective teams as starters to begin the 2024 season. With it, in their seventh season, the quest for a Super Bowl ring.
Who among them will be the first?
To date, this item has eluded these four quarterbacks, despite MVP awards, All-Pro selections, playoff appearances, and comeback stories.
All are wonderful accolades. Certainly to be applauded. All four have eyes on the big prize, taking snaps for franchises who will contend for division titles, at the very least.
Who among them will take that next step?
Lamar Jackson
Jackson, along with Allen, is one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL. A lack of a title can be partially attributed to playing in the AFC, where in five of the last six Super Bowls, the conference has been represented by Patrick Mahomes or Tom Brady.
Coming off arguably his best season as a pro, Jackson picked up his second MVP award. Small solace after Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens had another pre-Super Bowl exit from the playoffs.
An AFC North title and first-round bye helped move things along. Baltimore took care of business in the Divisional Round, defeating the Houston Texas 34-10. And then Jackson and company ran into Mahomes and Kansas City in the AFC Championship game.
There, the Ravens offense was flustered, and the defense faltered in falling 17-10.
Jackson completed 36 of 59 passes in two postseason games last season, throwing for 424 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. He managed damage in the ground game, rushing for 154 yards and two touchdowns, averaging an impressive 8.1 yards per carry.
It was a better playoff effort for Jackson than in previous seasons. Still, a 2-4 career playoff record is nothing to write home about. In these six games, Jackson completed 57.4 percent of his attempts with 1324 yards, six touchdowns, and six picks. He has run for 521 yards and three scores.
The MVP award for Jackson was warranted, with the quarterback setting career highs in completions (307), attempts (457), percentage (67.2), and yards (3678). Jackson tossed only seven interceptions and had 24 touchdowns.
On the ground, Jackson found the end zone only five times. He had 821 yards and averaged 5.5 yards per carry (the second-lowest average of his career)
Jackson has 58 wins and 19 losses as a starter. The two-time MVP has nearly 16000 yards passing in his career and only once has thrown double digit interceptions in a season.
Help has arrived in the backfield with Derrick Henry. And Zay Flowers will continue to be a threat at wide receiver. Jackson should have the Ravens fighting it out for another division title in a very tough AFC North. Regression from last season is a possibility, but not by much, and Baltimore will be tested right off the bat.
1st four weeks: @ KC (9/5), vs LV (9/15), @ DAL (9/22), vs BUF (9/29)
Josh Allen
Allen achieved another solid season in 2023, leading the Buffalo Bills to the number two seed. Buffalo took care of business in the Wild Card round, defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Then, lo and behold, Allen and the Bills bowed out to, you guessed it, Mahomes and Kansas City.
Changes were afoot in the offseason for Buffalo, especially at the receiver position, where Stefon Diggs (Houston) and Gabe Davis (Jacksonville) both moved on. Allen will have a mix of newcomers and young receivers to throw to, with James Cook looking to build on an impressive '23 at running back.
The turnover bug followed Allen around in '23, where he threw 18 interceptions. Other numbers were in line with other seasons, throwing for 4306 yards and 29 touchdowns. Plus, he completed 66.5 percent of his pass attempts, second-best in Allen's career.
On the ground, Allen rushed for 524 yards and notched a career-high 15 touchdowns.
Allen added three rushing touchdowns in the playoffs and averaged over seven yards per carry. Buffalo was on the cusp of advancing to the AFC Championship game, with Allen mostly solid. Passing yards were on the low end (389) for two games. But he had four touchdown passes and zero interceptions.
In his career, Allen is 5-5 in the playoffs, tossing 21 touchdowns against only four interceptions.
If all goes well this season, Allen will hit 25,000 passing yards and 200 touchdowns in his career.
Getting in sync with the new receivers is a must for Allen, especially since the main security blanket and deep threat are gone. Plus, the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets are lurking, so the AFC East will again be a tough division to navigate.
1st four weeks: vs ARI (9/8), @ MIA (9/12), vs JAX (9/23), @ BAL (9/29)
Baker Mayfield
The 2023 season was the comeback of Mayfield. Not to the upper echelon of quarterbacks, but one who was consistent and steady. Mayfield was handed the heavy burden of replacing Brady and responded with a division title.
Mayfield even managed to sneak in a playoff win to boot.
With the division title, Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hosted the Philadelphia Eagles. A 32-9 victory was followed up by a Divisional Round loss to the Detroit Lions, 31-23.
Mayfield completed 62.3 percent in the two games, throwing for 686 yards, six touchdowns, and two interceptions. His playoff record now sits at 2-2, with 1153 yards, 10 touchdowns, and three picks.
In returning to prominence, Mayfield posted career-bests in percentage (64.3), yards (4044), and touchdowns (28). Of more importance, he threw only ten interceptions.
There were ups and downs, much like his career, but Mayfield showed that glimmer of why he was the former number one pick. Plus, he crossed over 20,000 career passing yards last season.
With Mike Evans at wide receiver, Mayfield throws to one of the best in the game. Other top players on offense return and this should help Tampa Bay compete in a weak NFC South. How far the Buccaneers go depends on if Mayfield can keep up his play (and maybe get a running game to compliment him). A couple of early measuring sticks await but a 2-2 record to start is a strong possibility.
1st four weeks: vs WAS (9/8), @ DET (9/15), vs DEN (9/22), vs PHI (9/29)
Sam Darnold
Darnold was minutes away from becoming the first of this quarterback group to win a Super Bowl ring. Sure, it would have been as backup to Brock Purdy on the San Francisco 49ers. But still, a ring is a ring.
Of course it was Mahomes who got in the way, with Kansas City picking up a 25-22 victory in overtime.
Darnold spent all the '23 season as the backup in San Francisco, with one start and (mostly) mop-up duty. In 2024, Darnold is with his fourth team, joining the Minnesota Vikings in the offseason. He will be the starting quarterback, partially thanks to season-ending knee injury to J.J. McCarthy, who was selected tenth overall in the 2024 NFL draft.
Darnold will have help with arguably the game's top receiver in Justin Jefferson. The rest of the corps is solid, too, and the Vikings have newcomer Aaron Jones at running back. So, some of the pressure on Darnold should be alleviated.
For his career, Darnold is 21-35 as a starting quarterback. His best seasons as a starter were in year two, where Darnold went 7-6, and in 2022, where he was 4-2.
Darnold has thrown for 12064 yards, tossing over 3000 just once, with 63 touchdowns and 56 interceptions.
Lasting a full season as a starter is Darnold's first goal. He will need to be at his best if Minnesota has a shot, with Detroit and Green Bay the class of the NFC North. Not out of the realm of everything mighty but if Darnold plays well, the Vikings will be right there at the end.
1st four weeks: @ NYG (9/8), vs SF (9/15), vs HOU (9/22), @ GB (9/29)
Josh Rosen
Rosen was last with an NFL team in December 2022, when was signed to the practice squad of the Minnesota Vikings. I am kind of surprised he hasn't appeared in the USFL or XFL or CFL but maybe he has put football behind him.
The window isn't necessarily closing for these four starting quarterbacks at getting a Super Bowl ring. Jackson and Allen have the best chance in year seven, with Mayfield and Darnold duking it out in a wide-open NFC.
Unless, that is, Mahomes decides to once again get in the way, and ruin the dreams of these four quarterbacks, one way or another.
Follow along for progress made during the 2024 season, with updates after week 4, week 9, week 13, and week 18.
PREVIOUS SEASONS:
- 5 QBs - 2023 season
- 5 QBs - 2022 season
- 5 QBs - 2021 season
- 5 QBs - 2020 season
- 5 QBs - 2019 season
- 5 QBS - 2018 season
photo credit: Flickr
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