SB Nation NFL Writers Mock Draft: Buffalo Bills take QB Josh Allen at pick 12

Upside.

It’s the term you’re going to hear a lot around Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen, who may have the highest ceiling in the entire 2018 NFL Draft. It’s the reason we took him with the 12th pick in the 2018 SB Nation Writers Mock.

When Dan Lavoie, Andrew “Grif” Griffin, and I sat down to make this pick, we saw that the top three quarterbacks on our board were gone. We had Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen, and Baker Mayfield in that order in our top tier with Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson in the second tier.

Looking at how the board has shaken out, we didn’t give a whole lot of consideration to any other position. With quarterback being a need and no guarantee we could get Allen or Jackson at 22, we made the call to select Allen.

Allen’s big arm and measurables make him an intriguing prospect but he’s likely going to have to sit behind AJ McCarron in 2018. General manager Brandon Beane has mentioned a preference for arm strength over accuracy and Allen is similar to Cam Newton, who was the Panthers’ top pick franchise quarterback when Beane was in Carolina as the assistant GM. By staying put at 12 and still coming away with a QB, the Bills now have five top-100 picks remaining to build their roster around Allen.

It should be noted that if trades were allowed, we worked out a deal with the New York Giants to get to the number two spot and take Rosen, skipping over a trade with the Cleveland Browns in the process.

Bills fans agreed with us in large numbers when we put it to a vote while we were on the clock.

So there you have it. Let us know what you think.

2018 SB Nation NFL Writers’ Mock Draft

1. Cleveland Browns: Sam Darnold, QB, USC
2. New York Giants: Bradley Chubb, DE, NC State
3. New York Jets (via Indianapolis Colts): Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA
4. Cleveland Browns (via Houston Texans): Saquon Barkley, RB, Penn State
5. Denver Broncos: Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma
6. Indianapolis Colts (via New York Jets): Quenton Nelson, OG, Notre Dame
7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Derwin James, S, Florida State
8. Chicago Bears: Tremaine Edmunds, LB, Virginia Tech
9. San Francisco 49ers: Minkah Fitzpatrick, S, Alabama
10. Oakland Raiders: Maurice Hurst, DT, Michigan
11. Miami Dolphins: Roquan Smith, LB, Georgia
12. Buffalo Bills: Josh Allen, QB, Wyoming

Next Read

• Josh Allen: personal history, background
• College stats underwhelming for top prospect Josh Allen
• Film analysis: Josh Allen has elite size and physical abilities
• The case for Josh Allen (and the case against him)