BREAKING NEWS: Why Broncos, Five Other Teams Passed on Josh Allen in the 2018 NFL Draft .giang

Bills quarterback Josh Allen was drafted with the seventh overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. He was the third quarterback off the board but has been the most successful since coming into the league.

Every year, there are hits and misses in the draft. Allen certainly didn’t fall far, but when you look at the picks ahead of him, and with hindsight being 20/20, you have to wonder how history would have been rewritten if Allen ended up on another team. There were six draft picks ahead of Allen, with five teams choosing players.

Let’s look at what caused those teams to pass on Allen and how the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft unfolded.

SN’S PLAYOFFS HQ: Live NFL scores | Full NFL schedule | Updated NFL bracket

Josh Allen scouting report

Allen wasn’t a household name in 2018. He spent his college years playing for Wyoming in the Mountain West and had the ideal quarterback size but with a limited sample size over two years as a starter. Allen finished with 5,066 yards, 44 touchdowns and 21 interceptions in 27 career games. He added 767 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground.

At the time, Charlie Campbell composed a scouting report on Allen. He said the quarterback had a lot of upside, but it depended on where he landed because he needed development. Campbell’s analogy for Allen was a young pitcher who got called up to the big leagues and featured high speed but needed to work on accuracy. This tracks as Allen has a rocket for an arm and can easily force the ball downfield. Campbell did predict that Allen would be a top-10 draft pick.

Before joining ESPN, Matt Miller was a draft analyst for Bleacher Report. He wrote a scouting profile pretty similar to Campbell’s. Miller’s biggest knocks against Allen stemmed from his completion percentage. He said the quarterback tended to make bad decisions and throw errant passes. When he missed, the quarterback would miss big, leading to not only interceptions but increased concern over his accuracy. Miller agreed that Allen needed to be developed but still mocked him in the draft’s first round.

NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein said Allen likely would be the most significant boom-or-bust quarterback prospect in that year’s draft. Zierlein said Allen had the size and arm talent that you are accustomed to seeing from first-round picks, but the abnormally low completion percentage (56.2%) historically didn’t lead to NFL success. Zierlein also had Allen mocked in the first round, with the hope that the quarterback would be able to “improve the mental part of his game.”

MORE 2025 NFL PLAYOFF NEWS:

• Full NFL playoff schedule
• Updated NFL playoff bracket
• Wild-card picks against the spread
• NFL playoff power rankings, 1-14
• SN’s expert playoff predictions, Super Bowl 59 picks

2018 NFL Draft

Six players were drafted ahead of Allen in the 2018 NFL Draft. Two of them were quarterbacks, and while Allen has only played for Buffalo in his career, the other two quarterbacks have combined to suit up for eight teams, including one serving as the other’s backup.

Here’s a rundown of the six players selected ahead of Allen before the Bills traded up to get him at No. 7.

No. 1: Baker Mayfield, QB, Cleveland Browns

The Browns needed a quarterback the year prior but chose defensive end Myles Garrett. Once again, Cleveland was on the clock with the No. 1 pick, and they decided to go with Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield. He was the reigning Heisman winner, coming off a season with 4,627 passing yards, 43 touchdowns and six interceptions. Mayfield was expected to be a top draft pick, but Cleveland thought they had finally found the answer to their quarterback problems.

This didn’t work out for the Browns. Mayfield has since been traded to the Panthers, has played for the Rams and is now starting for the Buccaneers and faces off against Washington Sunday. He finally developed into the quarterback he was expected to be in Tampa Bay and has led the Bucs to the playoffs in back-to-back seasons.

No. 2: Saquon Barkley, RB, New York Giants

Barkley was the top running back in the class, and many outlets had him as the No. 1 overall prospect on their big boards. The Browns also needed a running back but decided to address the quarterback position with the first overall pick. New York was in a similar situation but was banking on Eli Manning to have one or two more good years left in the tank.

The Giants went with Barkley, who has since developed into one of the better running backs in the league. Barkley has since signed with the Eagles in free agency and rushed for over 2,000 yards in 2024 and had a chance at the single-season rushing record if he didn’t rest in Week 18.

No. 3: Sam Darnold, QB, New York Jets

Darnold was in the conversation for the top quarterback in the class. There were some concerns with his footwork, but overall, he checked nearly every box you would want to see from an NFL-caliber quarterback. New York drafted him, but it was not the best place for him to land. He didn’t finish his rookie contract with the franchise and went viral for seeing ghosts in the defense.

Darnold was traded to Carolina, where he was Mayfield’s teammate. The quarterback then spent a year with the 49ers before landing in Minnesota, where he was finally put into a system that developed him. You wouldn’t believe it if you heard it over the last five years, but Darnold led the Vikings to a 14-3 season and a playoff berth in 2024.

No. 4: Denzel Ward, CB, Cleveland Browns

Cleveland traded back up and selected Ward out of Ohio State. The surprise here was that Cleveland passed on Bradley Chubb, but it was still a solid pick for a team that needed help on both sides of the ball. With Mayfield going No. 1, the Browns brought in Ward to develop into a starting corner and help lead the defense alongside Garrett. The cornerback remains with Cleveland and has had at least 34 tackles and two interceptions each season.

No. 5: Bradley Chubb, DE, Denver Broncos

Chubb fell into Denver’s lap at No. 5. The Broncos needed a quarterback but had recently gotten burned, taking Paxton Lynch in the first round. Denver signed Case Keenum as a bridge quarterback and addressed a hole on the defensive line instead. Chubb was the best pass-rusher in that year’s class and was expected to be a top-five pick. He had 12 sacks as a rookie but has since joined the Dolphins.

No. 6: Quenton Nelson, OG, Indianapolis Colts

Indianapolis didn’t think it needed a quarterback but wanted to ensure that whoever was under center was protected. The Colts took the best offensive lineman in the class in Nelson. He helped protect Andrew Luck in 2018, but the quarterback surprisingly retired ahead of the 2019 season. Nelson has been a mainstay on the offensive line as Indy has had a revolving door under center until now with dual-threat quarterback Anthony Richardson.

Below is a complete look at the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft with the quarterback selections bolded:

NFL COACHING NEWS: