Lamar Jackson’s NFL Draft

Lamar Jackson is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL right now. The 27-year-old quarterback already plays beyond his years and even bagged the NFL MVP award in his second year in the NFL. Here’s taking a look back at the Heisman Trophy winner’s NFL Draft.

Lamar Jackson Draft: Year, Date, Round and Pick Number

Draft Year	Round	Pick Number	NFL Team	Position	College	Conference (College)
2018	1	32	Baltimore Ravens	Quarterback	University of Louisville	Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC)

Jackson entered the NFL 2018 Draft as the winner of the Heisman Trophy (2016) and consecutive winner of the ACC Athlete of the Year award.

Grading Lamar Jackson’s NFL Draft

Lamar Jackson is a Grade ‘A’ draft for the Baltimore Ravens. Jackson featured in 16 games in his rookie season and started 7 of those games. His amazing performances for the Ravens has bagged him two NFL MVP awards in the 2019 and 2023. His rushing abilities make him one of the most formidable dual-threat quarterbacks in the league. He holds the record for most rushing yards in a season (1,206 in 2019).

Lamar Jackson Draft photo: How old was Lamar Jackson when he went to the NFL

Lamar Jackson was 21 when he entered the 2018 NFL Draft. He was the last pick of the first round although he was one of the best quarterbacks entering the 2018 Draft. Jackson was the fifth quarterback selected that year. Jackson finished his college career with 9043 passing yards and a total of 69 touchdown passes. He also accumulated an impressive 50 rushing touchdowns.

Lamar Jackson’s Draft Bio and Profile

The NFL Draft Report is prepared by scouts after analyzing the potential of players entering the NFL Draft. It helps teams make better draft selections suited to their needs. Scouts predicted that Jackson would be a late pick in the first round of the draft. Here is a summary of Lamar Jackson’s Draft Bio and Report:

Lamar Jackson	Quarterback, University of Louisville. 6 ft. 2 inches, 216 pounds
Summary	An explosive athlete with more than 9000 passing yards and 4000 rushing yards in his college career. Serious doubts exist about his pro potential leading several teams to request that Jackson work out with the wide receivers at the combine. He shut down those requests instantly. Lamar Jackson is absolutely a quarterback prospect and a very promising one at that.
Positives	Explosive running threat who is also spectacularly agile in the pocket and skilled at avoiding the rush. Has outrageous flexibility to extend manoeuvres at every play. Makes difficult throws on the field with ease. Good at deep ball passing Attacks the middle of the field with good short/intermediate passes.
Negatives	Not an accurate passer. Doubts about him leading an NFL team as a quarterback. Timing and rhythm mechanics need work. The throwing stance is narrow and panics when pressured. Takes unnecessary risks and throws in ill-advised windows. Needs to adapt his running style to stay fit in the NFL. Concerns about his maturity as he declined to run 40-yard dashes at the NFL Combine and Pro Day. Made a lackluster throwing display.
NFL Combine Note	QB Ball Velocity: 49 MPH, Hand Size: 9.5 inches, Arm Length: 33.13 Inches & Wonderlic: 13

How many quarterbacks were chosen before Lamar Jackson?

Lamar Jackson was the fifth quarterback to be selected in the 2018 NFL Draft. He was overall pick number 32. Here are the quarterbacks who were drafted prior to Lamar Jackson:

• Baker Mayfield

The Cleveland Browns selected Baker Mayfield as the first overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft. He has been important for the Browns as he helped them overcome their playoff drought. The Heisman Trophy winner is now the starting quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the foreseeable future after signing a 3-year contract with the Bucs in 2024.

• Sam Darnold

Sam Darnold was the 3rd overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. The New York Jets drafted him after he came off a Rose Bowl-winning season with the University of Southern California, He was drafted by New York Jets after impressing for the University of Southern California. He became the youngest NFL starting quarterback ever on an opening day with the Jets in 2018 since the NFL-AFL merger. The Jets traded Darnold to the Carolina Panthers in 2021. He then went to San Francisco in 2023 to back up Brock Purdy before signing a 1-year deal with the Minnesota Vikings in 2024.

• Josh Allen

Josh Allen was drafted by the Buffalo Bills as the 7th pick of the First Round. He has been an influential player for the Buffalo Bills as their starting quarterback. He has helped the Bills reach the Divisional round in consecutive seasons while also making an appearance in the AFC Championship game. With Josh Allen under center, the Bills have been a perennial playoff team.

• Josh Rosen

Rosen was the 10th overall pick in the draft and he was drafted by the Cardinals. Rosen has had a lackluster career and has already been on 7 different teams. He has made a total of 16 career starts to date and currently is a free agent.

Who was the Number one Pick when Lamar Jackson was drafted?

Baker Mayfield was the number one pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Mayfield might have not lived up to his number 1 selection status till now, but he certainly helped Cleveland Browns come out of their 1-31 (2016 and 2017 record) misery. His passing accuracy remained a concern as it dropped after his rookie season. However, after bouncing through couple teams, Mayfield found his home in Tampa where he went on to have a career year. Baker led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the Divisional Round in the 2023-24 season and signed a new 3-year contract with them in 2024 offseason.

Who was Ravens QB before Jackson?

Joe Flacco was the starting quarterback for the Ravens before the arrival of Lamar Jackson. Flacco was the starting quarterback in Jackson’s rookie season too However, they almost had an equal share of games as starters. Flacco played for the Ravens from 2008 to 2018 and even helped them win Super Bowl XLVII where he was named Super Bowl MVP. Flacco is known for having one of the strongest arms in the NFL and holds the record for the most career passing yards and touchdowns for any quarterback who was never in a Pro Bowl. In 2023, he led the Cleveland Browns to the playoffs after starting quarterback Deshaun Watson went down with an injury. He is on Indianapolis Colts roster for 2024-25 season.

Who was the quarterback before Lamar Jackson at Louisville?

Lamar Jackson replaced Will Gardner as the starting quarterback for the Louisville Cardinals. Gardner did not pursue football after college. He completed 1669 passing yards in the 2014 season for the Louisville Cardinals and made 12 touchdown passes.

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