New York's Sports Loud Mouth
Mondays and Thursdays at 7:00 to 10:30 PM
Check out our handicapping expert World Wide Wes’s brand new book, titled Disciplined Sports Betting, getting released soon on Amazon, and
available here now!
Photo Credit: Michael Owens, Getty Images
If NFL general managers were forced to sit in a room and rewatch their worst decisions, the 2018 quarterback draft would be shown on a loop like a psychological experiment.
Because this wasn’t just a QB class — this was a stress test on the entire NFL evaluation system.
Five quarterbacks.
Five wildly different personalities.
Five completely different career paths.
Some franchises got superheroes.
Some got scars.
Some got therapy bills.
And one guy got humbled so hard he became a league-wide lesson.
Baker Mayfield.
Sam Darnold.
Josh Allen.
Josh Rosen.
Lamar Jackson.
Let’s talk about how it started, where it went off the rails, and where these guys are right now, with honesty, hindsight, and just enough disrespect to keep it real.
Photo Credit: Michael Owens, Getty Images
Josh Allen – The Buffalo Gamble That Turned into a Franchise Identity
Original Pick: #7 overall
Career Grade: A+
Re-Draft Slot Today: #1 Overall
Josh Allen entered the league looking like a science project.
Huge arm.
Huge body.
Accuracy issues that made scouts sweat through suits.
And Buffalo said, “We’ll teach him.”
That sentence usually gets a coach fired. Instead, it created one of the most physically dominant quarterbacks the league has ever seen. Allen didn’t just improve — he evolved into a linebacker who throws 70-yard missiles and treats defenders like speed bumps.
He runs. He throws. He hurdles. He trucks. He does things quarterbacks aren’t supposed to do, and he does them in snowstorms like it’s normal.
Josh Allen didn’t become good.
He became inevitable.
Still needs to do to be all-time:
- Win a Super Bowl (Buffalo is begging)
- Clean up the January hero-ball moments
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Lamar Jackson – The Pick That Exposed the NFL’s Blind Spots
Original Pick: #32 overall
Career Grade: A
Re-Draft Slot Today: #2 Overall
Thirty-one teams passed on Lamar Jackson.
Let that sit.
They told him to switch positions. They questioned his arm. They doubted his durability. And Lamar responded by winning an MVP and turning defensive film into a comedy special.
Lamar didn’t just change Baltimore — he changed quarterback evaluation. His speed erased angles. His instincts broke schemes. His presence forced teams to rethink how modern offenses are built.
Every time he takes off, defenses panic like they forgot the assignment.
Still needs to do to be all-time:
- A dominant playoff run
- A Super Bowl moment that defines his era
- Longevity (because speed always gets questioned)
Baker Mayfield – Drafted First, Blamed for Everything
Original Pick: #1 overall
Career Grade: B+
Re-Draft Slot Today: #3 Overall
Baker Mayfield was drafted to save the Browns.
That alone should’ve come with hazard pay.
He brought swagger, confidence, and relevance to a franchise allergic to stability. He won games. He won a playoff game. And Cleveland still looked at him like, “Yeah, but…”
Between injuries, coaching chaos, and the Browns doing Browns things, Baker became the fall guy. Now older, humbled, and far less loud, Baker looks like what he probably always was — a capable NFL starter who needed stability more than spotlight.
He didn’t fail.
He survived.
Still needs to do to be all-time:
- Prove consistency over multiple seasons
- Lead a deep playoff run
- Stay healthy
Sam Darnold – The Seattle Redemption Arc Nobody Predicted
Original Pick: #3 overall
Career Grade (Updated): B- (Trending Up)
2024–25 Season Grade: B+
Re-Draft Slot Today: #4 Overall
Sam Darnold’s career is proof that where you get drafted matters as much as how talented you are.
He entered the league at 21 years old and got handed the Jets — no protection, no weapons, no patience, and Adam Gase. That’s not development. That’s football malpractice.
Fast forward to Seattle, and suddenly Sam Darnold looks like… a quarterback.
This season, Darnold played calm, controlled, and confident football. He protected the ball, made smart decisions, hit timely throws, and — most importantly — stopped beating himself.
No ghosts.
No panic.
No weekly disaster press conferences.
Seattle didn’t ask him to be a superstar. They asked him to be reliable — and for the first time in his career, he delivered.
2024–25 Seattle Accomplishments:
- Re-established himself as a legitimate NFL starter
- Improved decision-making and pocket awareness
- Cut down turnovers significantly
- Won meaningful games
- Revived his league-wide reputation
Sam Darnold didn’t turn into Mahomes.
He turned into something more realistic — a quarterback you can win with.
Still needs to do to be all-time:
- Stack another solid season
- Win a playoff game
- Prove this isn’t a one-year revival tour
Josh Rosen – The “Nine Mistakes Ahead of Me” Lesson
Original Pick: #10 overall
Career Grade: D
Re-Draft Slot Today: #5 (or not at all)
Josh Rosen talked like the league owed him something.
The league responded swiftly and without mercy.
He bounced from team to team, never adjusting, never settling, and never convincing anyone he could be the guy. Talent existed. Adaptability didn’t.
The NFL doesn’t care how smart you are.
It cares how fast you learn.
1. Josh Allen – Franchise-altering force
2. Lamar Jackson – MVP, game-breaker
3. Baker Mayfield – Proven survivor
4. Sam Darnold – Fully resurrected
5. Josh Rosen – The warning label
The 2018 QB class didn’t expose quarterbacks — it exposed franchises.
Good teams developed talent.
Bad teams destroyed it.
And some teams are still pretending none of this happened.
Five quarterbacks entered the league believing they were ready.
Two became stars.
Two became survivors.
One became a lesson.
And every GM since then knows the truth:
Draft night doesn’t define quarterbacks — development does.
Twitter: @ErrolMarks34
LinkedIn: Errol Marks
Instagram: @rollothamouth34
www.omahasteaks.com/NYSSportsLoudMouth
or go to our website at worldwidesportsradio.com and click on the Omaha Steaks Logo!
My name is Errol Marks and I’d like to tell you why I believe I can be a major asset to your station. I’m from a small town in Long Island, NY and from a very young age I’ve always had a love for sports talk radio. Growing up, I would listen religiously to shows like Mike and the Mad Dog, Mike and Mike, and Imus in the Morning and studied what made those shows so great. I’ve made it my goal to be as influential as the hosts I grew up listening to, and with my knowledge of all major sports, enthusiastic and fearless personality, and my preparation skills, I know I can get to that level. This is an art and a medium that I’m passionate about and one that I feel can never be replaced.
What makes my story so unique goes beyond my 10+ years of experience in sports media. In addition to over ten years of creating and hosting sports talk radio shows, I created the World Wide Sports Radio Network - one of the first ever digital sports radio networks - in 2012. Since the network began, we have had some of the best content in digital sports media. We have six quality shows on our network covering all sports and sports betting. I’m currently hosting New York’s Sports Loud Mouth, and you can find that show and the rest of our great shows at https://worldwidesportsradio.com/.
Our network’s content and listenership has grown significantly year to year and, in the past year, we’ve achieved 3.6 million minutes listened on our audio stream, over 29k followers on tik tok, 500k viewed on YouTube, 1.7 million downloads on Apple Podcasts, and 906,917 plays on Spotify. While we are enjoying a continued increase in growth, I feel that we can take this to a new level and a new audience with your help.
My goal since the day I started is to become the greatest and most recognizable sports radio show host in the country. I can guarantee that nobody in this industry currently has my passion, personality or ability to shape the future of sports broadcasting and entertainment like I do. If given the opportunity, I hope to further share my story and many talents with you and your station.
Twitter: @ErrolMarks34
LinkedIn: Errol Marks
Instagram: @rollothamouth34
0 Comments