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The Buffalo Bills should undoubtedly draft a quarterback in the first round of this month’s draft. The question, however, is should Josh Allen be the guy they take?
According to Denver-based NFL journalist Benjamin Allbright, the Buffalo Bills have shared with several people that Allen is the quarterback that they’re targeting. Additionally, Allbright says that one of his sources that informed him about the Bills interest in Allen also told him last year that the team was going after Nathan Peterman in last year’s draft, who of course is now on the Bills’ roster.
Here’s the skinny on Allen: despite posting pretty pedestrian stats at Wyoming over the course of his collegiate career, he’s likely to be among the first few quarterbacks to be picked because he’s six-foot-five and weighs 233 pounds. Because of his impressive size and small-school status, Allen, on a surface level, is being likened to Carson Wentz when he came out of North Dakota State in 2016. Essentially, Allen is being labeled as the latest raw QB prospect with prototypical size that has the ‘potential’ to someday perhaps become a star.
Why the Bills should be enticed by Allen
Besides Wentz, Allen could be the next Andrew Luck or Ben Roethlisberger - a big strapping passer to whom teams can feel comfortable handing over the keys to the franchise. For as much talk as there is about Allen potentially being taken No. 1 overall, there’s nearly as much chatter about him sliding a bit because of his stats, which gives the Bills a pretty good chance at landing the QB should they find a way to move into the top 5 of the draft order like it’s expected that they desire to.
Why Allen should scare the them
After finally returning to the playoffs after 17 years, it doesn’t seem like now is the ideal time for the Bills to take on a developmental project at quarterback, especially with AJ McCarron and Nathan Peterman as the only other quarterbacks on their roster. Furthermore, It doesn’t make sense for the Bills to have just traded away a steady performer in Tyrod Taylor just to then turn around and draft one of, if not this year’s biggest, boom-or-bust QB prospects.
Why the early leaks don’t make sense
Under Sean McDermott and Brandon Beane, the Bills have been incredibly tight-lipped as an organization. The Cordy Glenn and Tyrod Taylor trades came out of nowhere, as did multiple signings this offseason. If the Bills are being linked to players by multiple outside outlets, they want the information out there. Take that for what you will.