The 2018 NFL Draft was a pivotal moment for two franchises seeking saviors at the game’s most important position. The Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens each made bold moves to secure their quarterback of the future, but the selections of Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson were far from universally praised. Scouts and analysts raised questions about Allen’s accuracy and Jackson’s ability to succeed from the pocket, leading many to label them as high-risk picks. Fast-forward to 2025, and those same “risky” prospects are now the odds-on favorites to win MVP and have emerged as the faces of a new era of NFL quarterbacks.
Silencing the Skeptics
The knocks on Allen and Jackson entering the draft were well-publicized. For Allen, it was his 56% completion rate at Wyoming that raised red flags. Could he make the requisite jump in accuracy to succeed at the NFL level? Meanwhile, Jackson’s electrifying playmaking ability as a runner led some to question if he was a legitimate quarterback prospect or more of an athlete playing the position. Both players used that doubt as fuel.
Josh Allen’s Precision Progression
Upon being selected 7th overall, Allen boldly proclaimed that he would make the Bills look “like the smartest people out there.” Buffalo surrounded their new franchise quarterback with an offensive infrastructure designed to accentuate his strengths. Allen’s completion rate has skyrocketed from 52.8% as a rookie to over 65% in the past five seasons, silencing any lingering concerns over his accuracy.
You name it, he’s in command of our offense. When you look up the word quarterback in the dictionary, that’s how he’s playing.
– Bills coach Sean McDermott on Josh Allen
Lamar Jackson’s Pocket Presence
The Ravens saw Jackson’s rare talent and moved back into the first round to select him 32nd overall. Baltimore built their offense around Jackson’s unique skill set, featuring heavy doses of run-pass options to keep defenses off balance. But as Jackson has developed, the plan was always for him to become more of a passer. This season, Jackson produced his first 4,000-yard campaign through the air and led the league in touchdown passes while keeping his interceptions in the single digits, an unprecedented feat.
The vision we have together is that Lamar Jackson is going to become and be recognized as the greatest quarterback to ever play in NFL history.
– Ravens coach John Harbaugh before the 2025 season
Chasing Elusive Championships
For all their individual brilliance, the glaring omission on the resumes of both Allen and Jackson remains a Super Bowl title. They have each guided their teams to an AFC Championship Game but fell short against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. Now, as they prepare to square off in the divisional round on Sunday, Allen and Jackson have an opportunity to move one step closer to cementing their legacies.
The Rivalry Continues
Allen and Jackson have split their four career meetings, adding fuel to the debate over which quarterback reigns supreme. Their postseason showdown promises to be the latest chapter in a budding rivalry between two of the game’s brightest stars. Both the Bills and Ravens invested heavily in surrounding their franchise quarterbacks with talent, turning them into perennial championship contenders in the process.
Changing the Quarterback Paradigm
The rapid ascensions of Jackson and Allen have helped to shift perceptions about what an elite NFL quarterback looks like. Their unique combination of rocket arms, deft touch, and dynamic running ability have made them the prototypes for a new generation of signal-callers. As more and more teams search for their own version of Allen or Jackson in the draft, their enduring impact on the game is already being felt.
- Proving the doubters wrong: Allen and Jackson used the questions about their NFL readiness as motivation, developing into MVP-caliber quarterbacks.
- Transforming franchises: The Bills and Ravens surrounded their young quarterbacks with the pieces to succeed, building perennial playoff contenders.
The 2018 NFL Draft will be remembered as a turning point for the Bills and Ravens, where two boom-or-bust prospects evolved into bona fide superstars. As Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson continue their reign atop the NFL quarterback hierarchy, their journeys serve as a testament to the importance of betting big at the game’s most influential position. The questions that once surrounded them have long since faded, replaced by a growing collection of MVP votes, record-setting performances, and a burning desire to one day hoist the Lombardi Trophy. The Allen vs Jackson debate rages on, but their lasting impact on the league is no longer up for debate.
