#18

Clayton Thorson

Former quarterback at Northwestern. 2018: 3,181 passing yards, 17 TD, 15 INT.

QB · Northwestern · Sr. · #18

6′4″ · 226 lb · Wheaton, IL

Philadelphia — drafted 2019, Rd 5, Pick 29, #167 overall

Recruiting

4★

PRO recruit

No. 190 nationally · Signed with Northwestern

No college snaps yet.

His career numbers, season by season

The story

Former quarterback at Northwestern. 2018: 3,181 passing yards, 17 TD, 15 INT.

Signed as a 4-star recruit to Northwestern in 2014.
Drafted round 5 by the Philadelphia in 2019.

His career, year by year

How it ended

Four seasons at Northwestern, 10,729 passing yards — drafted at #167 overall by Philadelphia.

His career

He was on the field for 4 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.

2014

Signed with Northwestern4-star out of Wheaton North

2019

Drafted by Philadelphiaround 5, pick 167

Career arc

Recruit

★★★★

#190 national

CFB

College

Northwestern

2015–2018

NFL

NFL Draft

R5 · #167

Philadelphia · 2019

Coaching lineage · 2015–2018

1 coach

2015–2018

Pat Fitzgerald

Northwestern

Played his entire career under Pat Fitzgerald.

Where He Ended Up · NFL

PhiladelphiaEntering 8th NFL season

#167Rd 5 · Pick 29

PhiladelphiaEntering 8th NFL season

View college career stats ↓

2018 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

4 seasons under Pat Fitzgerald — 36-17 over that span.

2015Northwestern10-3HC: Pat Fitzgerald · Run-heavy

2016Northwestern7-6HC: Pat Fitzgerald · Balanced

2017Northwestern10-3HC: Pat Fitzgerald · Run-leaning, fast tempo

2018Northwestern9-5HC: Pat Fitzgerald · Balanced

Where this profile ranks vs the QB cohort

Box-score percentiles

8 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: rush tds (91st percentile). Strength: pass yards (87th percentile). Concern: interceptions (1st percentile).

Box-score rates (8)

Rush TDs#14 / 169 · 91st pct

Pass yards#23 / 169 · 87th pct

3181

Pass TDs#59 / 169 · 64th pct

Completion %#73 / 169 · 57th pct

60.8%

Yards / att#131 / 169 · 22nd pct

6.5

Fumbles lost#117 / 159 · 19th pct

Rush yards#164 / 169 · 3rd pct

-110

Interceptions#167 / 169 · 1st pct

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.

Splits & context

Splits · Per-game

2018 season · 14 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	YDS/g	TD/g	YPA	INT/g
Home7g	233	1.4	6.1	1.1
Road7g	222	1.0	6.9	1.0

First half vs Second half

	YDS/g	TD/g	YPA	INT/g
Weeks 1-77g	285	1.6	6.9	1.1
Weeks 8+7g	169	0.9	6.0	1.0

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

David Braun

Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 1 game in so far.

Awards

Player standing · 2018

Impact starter

Producing measurably more than a replacement-level starter.

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Career stats

Season	Team
2018	Northwestern	298	490	60.8%	3,181	6.5	17	15	120.7	--	--	--
2017	Northwestern	262	434	60.4%	2,844	6.6	15	12	121.3	--	--	--
2016	Northwestern	280	478	58.6%	3,182	6.7	22	9	125.9	--	--	--
2015	Northwestern	150	295	50.8%	1,522	5.2	7	9	95.9	--	--	--
Career		990	1,697	58.3%	10,729	6.3	61	45	118.0	--	--	--

Season	Team
2018	Northwestern	78	-110	-1.4	9	--
2017	Northwestern	87	23	0.3	8	--
2016	Northwestern	97	98	1.0	5	--
2015	Northwestern	100	397	4.0	5	--
Career		362	408	1.1	27	--

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 18 · 2018

W 31–20

at Utah

241 yds · 2 TD · 1 INT · -6 rush yds (5 car)

With J. Collins — 38 AVG · 3 IN 20 · 47 LONG · R. Chiaokhiao-Bowman — 2 rec · 64 yds

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week