One recent NFL phenomenon no one saw coming has been the reclamation of former first round quarterbacks — players who everyone gave up on with multiple teams before they found homes and landed nine-figure contracts.
Baker Mayfield, the No. 1 overall pick by the Cleveland Browns in 2018, did it with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2023.
Sam Darnold, the No. 3 overall pick in 2018 by the New York Jets, did it with the Minnesota Vikings in 2024, although he got his money from the Seattle Seahawks in free agency.
ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi thinks former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Kenny Pickett might be the next one to do it in 2025 with the Browns.
Pickett, like Mayfield and Darnold, has seen multiple stops after leaving the team that drafted him before landing somewhere he got a chance to be a full time starter again.
Pickett was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round (No. 22 overall) of the 2022 NFL draft and was the full time starter there for 2 years before he forced a trade to the Eagles before last season and was the backup for Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts.
The Eagles traded Pickett to the Browns on March 10 in exchange for Dorian Thompson-Robinson and a 2025 fifth round pick.
“Plenty of quarterbacks taken with high picks have shown that it’s possible to bounce back from slow starts to their careers, even if it misses latching on with a new team,” Oyefusi wrote on July 11. ” … The Browns opted not to exercise Pickett’s fifth-year option, which would have been worth $22 million. This makes it a critical season for Pickett, who has a fully guaranteed salary of $2.6 million and will be a free agent after the 2025 season. Though Cleveland’s quarterback room is crowded, Pickett finds himself firmly in the mix to be the team’s starter — and possibly turn his career around.”
Making Most Of Opportunity With New Teams
Mayfield signed a 3-year, $100 million contract with the Buccaneers before the 2024 season after making his first Pro Bowl in 2023, his first year as Tampa Bay’s starter.
Darnold signed a 3-year, $100.5 million contract with the Seahawks on March 10 after he earned Pro Bowl honors in his one season as Minnesota’s starter in 2024.
The problem for Pickett is the Seahawks and Buccaneers are well run NFL teams who have won Super Bowls and been among the league’s best teams in the recent past.
The Browns are run like an all-night laundromat.
Since trading for Pickett — ostensibly done to replace injured $240 million quarterback Deshaun Watson — the Browns have added 3 more quarterbacks. They signed free agent Joe Flacco, who won NFL Comeback Player of the Year with the Browns in 2023, then drafted a pair of quarterbacks with Dillon Gabriel in the third round (No. 94 overall) and Shedeur Sanders in the fifth round (No. 144 overall).
“The Pickett trade was also a head-scratcher,” ESPN’s Seth Walder wrote on July 10. “The Browns didn’t know they were going to draft two quarterbacks when they dealt for him, but they still gave up more for him than the Eagles did a year ago, even though Pickett didn’t show anything to improve his value during the 2024 season.”
