beaming Josh Allen Taking to the stage for the 2018 NFL Draft, he put on a gray baseball cap with one word written on it: Billieve.

"I'm going to make them look like the smartest guy," said Buffalo Bills, who moved up five after swapping picks with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to select Allen with the seventh overall pick. Location.

About 2 1/2 hours later, the Baltimore Ravens pulled off one of the biggest surprises of the draft, shocking even some in the draft room. After selecting tight end Hayden Hurst with the 25th overall pick, the Ravens returned to the first round by sending three picks to the Philadelphia Eagles to select quarterback Lamar Jackson.

Jackson, the final pick on night one of the draft, deadpanned, looked straight into the camera and said, "They're going to make me win the Super Bowl. Believe it."

Both Allen and Jackson had doubters before the draft. NFL evaluators believe they have the highest ceiling. But there are concerns about Allen's accuracy, and there are also questions about Jackson's ability to throw the ball effectively.

"Both guys have the skill set," ESPN senior draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said. "They're unique, and I get that. That's why people wrongly evaluate their performance in the NFL because they're not in the NFL. Get used to seeing it.”

Allen and Jackson not only established themselves as two of the best players in the game, but they changed the course of both teams in the process.

In the five seasons before acquiring a franchise quarterback, the Bills and Ravens hovered around .500 with one playoff bid each. Over the next seven seasons, Allen and Jackson eluded pass rushers, outran defenses and threw stunning touchdown passes, leading the team to a combined 146 wins and nine division titles while losing 58 times. game.

In Sunday's AFC Divisional Round (6:30 p.m. ET, CBS), one side will advance to the Super Bowl in one game while the other will have to wait at least another year to chase that elusive title. champion. Before this showdown, Jackson admitted that he would forever be connected to Allen because of that fateful night in the 2018 draft.

"When we grow up, we probably laugh about it," Jackson said. "But now, it's serious. Really."

Before 2018 When the draft began, the Bills thought they had a deal to move up and land Allen — until they didn't.

Buffalo previously agreed to jump from the 12th overall pick to the Denver Broncos' fifth overall pick. But then-Broncos general manager John Elway said he would only make a move if the player he wanted wasn't on the roster. The Broncos canceled the deal when pass rusher Bradley Chubb became available when the game began.

Bills general manager Brandon Beane quickly reversed course and completed a trade with the Buccaneers to move up to the seventh pick. According to the draft trade chart, the Bills traded a first-round pick (No. 12) and two second-round picks to Tampa Bay with a seventh-round pick and a seventh-round pick.

"We got some criticism for how much we gave up for Josh," Beane said at last year's NFL combine. "I thought, 'If he doesn't get healthy, I won't be here. If he doesn't get healthy, no one will care.'"

The biggest downside to Allen entering the draft is his 56% completion rate out of Wyoming.

Beane watched every throw Allen threw during his final two years in college, noting how many balls he could catch and how many times he evaded a sack. In his pre-draft meeting with Allen, Beane believed Allen had what it takes to be a franchise quarterback. The key is to clean up Allen's mechanics.

The Bills have equipped Allen with offensive coordinators who have helped him develop, from Brian Daboll to Ken Dorsey to Joe Brady. Buffalo wanted Allen to feel comfortable and cohesive with the play-callers, which in part facilitated the team's quarterback coaches (Dorsey and Brady) taking on the coordinator position.

The most significant investment surrounding Allen came from the 2020 acquisition of wide receiver Stefon Diggs (now with the Houston Texans) in exchange for draft picks. The Bills also used their first- and second-round picks in the past two drafts to sign tight end Dalton Kinkaid, right guard Ocyrus Torrence and wide receiver Keon... Coleman and signed two starting tackles this year.

To help develop his throwing motion over the years, Allen worked with Chris Hess, owner of the sports analytics company Biometrik. Hess digitally mapped all of Allen's pitches since 2020.

Allen's pass completion rate has improved from 52.8% in his rookie season to 65.2% over the past five years. In 2024, his pass completion rate is 63.6%.

"You name it, he runs our offense," Bills coach Sean McDermott said. "So when you look up the word quarterback in the dictionary or whatever, that's how he plays. He looks comfortable in the pocket and he has a really good feel for the game right now."

For crows, The 2018 draft seemed to be over on day one. Baltimore selected Hurst, and the team celebrated getting a young target on quarterback Joe Flacco's passing game.

Some team officials were already starting to leave the draft room, when Ravens communications director Kevin Byrne asked top personnel executives Eric DeCosta and Ozzie Newsome if they were ready to come downstairs to talk to reporters about their first pick. draft picks.

"No, I think we'll wait," DeCosta said.

Ten days ago, Baltimore invited Jackson to a secret pre-draft meeting. DeCosta also contacted Eagles general manager Howie Roseman days before the draft. Philadelphia is six picks short but owns the 32nd pick in the first round, and DeCosta knows the Eagles are willing to trade the pick to acquire more.

Back in the Ravens draft room, no one — not even coach John Harbaugh or owner Steve Biscotti sitting across the table — knew what was going on when DeCosta looked at Newsome , Newsom suggested: “Why don’t you call Howie?”

Baltimore agreed to send two picks from that year's draft (a second- and fourth-round pick) and a 2019 second-round pick to Philadelphia in exchange for the Eagles' 2018 first- and fourth-round picks. right. After making the final pick of the first round, DeCosta declared the Ravens back on the field.

"No one believes this," DeCosta said.

In pre-draft meetings, Harbaugh assured his staff that they could build an offense that Jackson could succeed with. The offensive coordinator at the time was Marty Mornhinweg, who had played dual-threat quarterbacks Michael Vick, Donovan McNabb and Ste Organizer Steve Young. The assistant head coach is former San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman, who coached Colin Kaepernick.

Baltimore's offense was run-and-pass-heavy, highlighting Jackson's speed and elusiveness. But the plan is that as the season goes on, Jackson will run less and throw more.

To upgrade Jackson's supporting cast for the next seven years, the Ravens used two first-round picks, wide receiver Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman, and Pro Bowl center Tyler Lind. Baum's first-round pick and right tackle Roger Rosengarten's second-round pick. This offseason, Baltimore signed running back Derrick Henry, finding the ultimate partner for Jackson.

It all leads to what the Ravens have been thinking. This season, Jackson has relied more on his arms than his legs. The two-time NFL MVP recorded his first 4,000-yard passing season and set another historic benchmark: He became the first person to throw for more than 40 touchdowns and fewer than five interceptions in a season players.

"Our shared vision is that Lamar Jackson will be known and recognized as the greatest quarterback in NFL history," Harbaugh said at the start of training camp this season.

jackson and allen is the favorite to win the NFL MVP award this season.

As quarterbacks for two of the league's highest-scoring offenses -- the Bills are second in points per game (29.5) and the Ravens are third (29.3) -- they've become two of the top picks in the 2018 draft. players.

But for Jackson, the connection ended there.

“I wasn’t too cool with people in the offseason, especially other quarterbacks,” Jackson said. "Don't get me wrong, there's no problem or anything like that, but we're competing against each other. I want to beat you; I'm not trying to be your friend."

The debate over the NFL's top quarterbacks has raged this season. But there is mutual respect between the two. This week, Jackson praised Allen for his strong arm and "uniqueness" that allows him to perform well even when his team collapses.

Before the Week 4 game, Allen described Jackson as "motivating a lot of people." He pointed to Jackson's toughness and work ethic that earned him two NFL MVP awards.

"Everybody around the league sees this," Allen said. "He really changed the way I think people play the game."

Allen and Jackson are 2-2 -- including the playoffs -- and both have experienced downs in those games.

In a divisional game in Buffalo in 2020, Jackson threw No. 6 and was sidelined with a concussion in a 17-3 victory. Earlier this season in Baltimore, Allen was limited to 180 yards passing in a 35-10 loss, his worst loss in three years.

Allen and Jackson were similarly disappointed in the playoffs. In the playoffs, Allen's record was 6-5 and Jackson's record was 3-4.

Everyone has been to an AFC Championship Game and shown frustration. In 2020, Allen lost a 38-24 shootout to the Kansas City Chiefs and was intercepted with two minutes remaining, ending any chance of a comeback. Last season, Jackson and the Ravens lost to the Chiefs 17-10 after being picked off in the end zone in the fourth quarter.

They'll compete for another chance in the conference championship game on Sunday.

"Beane and Sean McDermott believe in Josh Allen. Ozzie Newsome, Eric DeCosta and John Harbaugh believe in Lamar Jackson," Kiper said. "They're all big winners."

Kiper added, "What else do (Allen and Jackson) have in common? Neither of them has been to a Super Bowl."

NFL Nation reporter Alaina Getzenberg contributed to this report.