From Draft Bust to Super Bowl: QBs Who Have Rewritten the Narrative Like Sam Darnold

SAN FRANCISCO — The Seahawks are set to play in their first Super Bowl in over 11 years on Sunday afternoon, and a lot of that has to do with the play of quarterback Sam Darnold.

After finishing the 2024 season 10–7 and missing the playoffs for a second consecutive year, Seattle set their sights on bigger and better at signal-caller, deciding to ship Geno Smith off to the Raiders for a third-round pick and replacing him with Darnold. They signed the then-27-year-old to a three-year, $100 million deal (with an out after season one), and he's thrived ever since. Throughout the course of the regular season, Darnold completed a career-high 67.7% of his passes for 4,048 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions while leading the Seahawks to a 14–3 record, the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs, and the aforementioned berth in Super Bowl LX.

The best part? He’s did it all as a former first-round draft bust.

Darnold entered the NFL as a premier prospect out of USC and was selected by the Jets with the No. 3 pick in the 2018 draft. He struggled almost immediately in New York, however, winning just 13 of his first 38 starts while turning the ball over 46 times and causing the team to move on from him after just three seasons.

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After being traded to the Panthers in the 2021 offseason, Darnold spent two years in Carolina before his reclamation project began in San Francisco. There, he backed up Brock Purdy and worked under offensive guru Kyle Shanahan, parlaying that opportunity into a one-year contract with the Vikings the following season. When rookie J.J. McCarthy went down with an injury, Darnold took over and helped guide Minnesota to the postseason.

It’s been quite the journey for the QB, to say the least, but he’s now made his way to the NFL’s biggest stage. With that in mind, here’s a look at some other former first-round busts who have found their way to the Super Bowl.

Trent Dilfer, Baltimore Ravens (2000)

Draft position, team: 1994 Round 1, Pick 6 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The poster child for somehow finding himself in the big game, Trent Dilfer “led” the Ravens to a victory over the Giants in Super Bowl XXXV—despite completing fewer than 50% of his passes throughout the team's four-game playoff run. Though he never ultimately found long-term NFL success, you can never take the ring off Dilfer's finger.

Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco 49ers (2019)

Draft position, team: 2014 Round 2, Pick 62 - New England Patriots

You may not think of Jimmy Garoppolo as a bust in the true sense of the word, but the Patriots clearly had a plan for him (one that didn’t pan out) after selecting him with the 62nd pick in the 2014 NFL draft. Garoppolo was traded to San Francisco after three-plus seasons in New England and would go on to lead the 49ers to an appearance in Super Bowl LIV, one they lost to the Chiefs after squandering a 10-point fourth-quarter lead.

Rex Grossman, Chicago Bears (2006)

Draft position, team: 2003 Round 1, Pick 22 - Chicago Bears

The lone soldier on our list to bring the team he busted with to the big game, Rex Grossman led the Bears to Super Bowl XLI in his first season as Chicago’s full-time starter—three years after he was drafted with the 22nd pick. The Bears would go 13–3 in 2006 behind a stifling defense and Grossman throwing a modest 23 touchdowns against 20 interceptions. The former Florida Gator would go on to start just 24 more games over the next five seasons—13 of which came with Washington in 2011.

Jim Plunkett, Oakland Raiders (1980, ‘83)

Draft position, team: 1971 Round 1, Pick 1 - New England Patriots

Jim Plunkett was selected with the No. 1 pick in the 1971 draft by the Patriots, but wouldn’t find success until joining the Raiders later in his career. After being released by the 49ers during the 1978 preseason, Plunkett signed with the Silver and Black and over the next eight years, led them to the playoffs four times—including victories in Super Bowls XV and XVIII.

Who’s next?!

Baker Mayfield has had a career revival after being traded away from the Browns. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Quarterback reclamation projects have become quite the phenomenon across the NFL in recent years, with former first-rounders Geno Smith, Baker Mayfield, and—of course—Darnold having a career resurgence after moving on from the teams that drafted them.

While Mayfield is the obvious candidate to find his way to a Super Bowl, others include Bryce Young (who was benched after his first season with the Panthers before leading them to the playoffs in 2025), Kenny Pickett (now with the Raiders after busting with the Steelers), and former Patriots quarterback Mac Jones (should he find his way out of San Francisco).