How the Colts’ 2018 Draft Trade Built a Super Bowl Champion

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold completed one of the most unlikely comeback stories of all time on Sunday when he became the first starting quarterback in NFL history to win a Super Bowl after playing for 5+ teams.

The journeyman's one-of-one career may not have unfolded the way it has if not for the Indianapolis Colts dealing their third overall draft choice in 2018 to the New York Jets. In desperate need of a quarterback, the Jets moved up from their original position of sixth overall to ensure they'd get one of the draft's top passers.

New York sent two 2018 second-round picks to Indianapolis in exchange for jumping three spots in the first round. Indianapolis won just four games in 2017, its fewest since 2011. Quarterback Andrew Luck missed the entire season due to an injury in his throwing shoulder. With his return on the horizon, the team was in no need of using their first selection on a passer.

Following the Cleveland Browns' selection of quarterback Baker Mayfield and the New York Giants' selection of running back Saquon Barkley, University of Southern California quarterback Sam Darnold fell right into the Jets' lap. Cleveland grabbed cornerback Denzel Ward at fourth overall, followed by defensive end Bradley Chubb to the Broncos at fifth.

The 2018 NFL Draft was INSANE. pic.twitter.com/illKV1GiXK
— Football’s Greatest Moments (@FBGreatMoments) December 20, 2025

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With the sixth pick, Indianapolis took Notre Dame offensive guard Quenton Nelson. As a selection that has aged like fine wine, Nelson has notched six All-Pro selections (three first-team, three second-team) and eight Pro Bowl nominations in his eight seasons with the team.

Things worked out differently for Darnold in New York. As a rookie at just 21 years and 97 days old, he became the youngest starting quarterback since the 1970 merger.

In his three seasons with the Jets, he threw for a total of 45 touchdowns and 39 interceptions across 38 games. Helping his team to the second overall pick in the 2021 draft, New York elected to ship Darnold to the Carolina Panthers for three draft picks. New York elected to draft quarterback Zach Wilson as his successor.

I asked Sam Darnold if he had a message to #Jets fans who have continued to support him:

“Thank you.”

“I always look at myself and feel like I could’ve done a lot more for that franchise.”

“The fact that [Jets fans] are able to support me even through that means a lot.” pic.twitter.com/AtOsbghHJN
— Justin Fried (@JustinTFried) February 10, 2026

Entering his fourth season, the former Trojan didn't find much success in Carolina either. He saw action in 18 games with the Panthers across two seasons, tossing 16 touchdowns and an equal 16 interceptions. Ironically, Darnold was backed up by none other than Baker Mayfield in 2022, the quarterback drafted two spots ahead of him in 2018. Both quarterbacks would hit free agency following that season.

After a one-year pitstop in San Francisco backing up Brock Purdy, Darnold signed a one-year deal with the Minnesota Vikings. An injury to the team's 10th-overall pick, JJ McCarthy, earned Darnold his first starting gig in over two seasons. He exploded for his best season as a professional, notching a career-high 35 passing touchdowns.

"There's no other place I'd rather play. Just so grateful to be a Viking."

Sam Darnold after the biggest comeback of his career with the @Vikings #SKOL pic.twitter.com/3v3WYC4quB
— NFL on FOX Presents: Rearview (@FOXNFLRearview) December 1, 2024

It was that breakout season that finally earned Darnold a long-term home with the now-Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.

On his fifth team after eight full seasons in the NFL, the 28-year-old becomes the first quarterback from the 2018 draft class to win the big game. That fact becomes all the more impressive when realizing that two quarterbacks selected after Darnold that same year have combined to win three Most Valuable Player awards in that same stretch.

Sam Darnold is the first QB from the star-studded 2018 draft class to win a Super Bowl 👏 pic.twitter.com/9cBk4lkCfd
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) February 9, 2026

One pick after the Colts took Nelson, the Buffalo Bills selected Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen. Say Indianapolis never entertains the Jets' offer, and instead the Bills beat them to the punch by trading up with Cleveland at fourth. Does Sam Darnold head to Buffalo and become their franchise guy under offensive coordinator Brian Daboll? Does Josh Allen wind up a New York Jet, never blossoming into the quarterback he is today?

Hindsight will always be 20/20. If the Colts knew Andrew Luck would retire just 16 months later, they'd almost certainly have brought Darnold or Allen to Indianapolis. If Darnold never heads to New York, he very well may never have wound up as the Seahawks Super Bowl-winning quarterback.

𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚: Former Jets’ GM Mike Maccagnan, who drafted Sam Darnold in 2018, says he’s happy that he’s fulfilling his potential now, he told ESPN.

“I was always kind of sad that Sam wasn't able to fulfill that potential in New York. It makes me feel good that he's… pic.twitter.com/5rBoEaa7Xm
— JPA (@jasrifootball) February 1, 2026

The landscape of the NFL would forever be changed on that seemingly casual day in March when the Jets and Colts traded draft assets. Who'd have thought?

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