With the first round of the 2018 NFL draft over ,the Buffalo Bills did was most predicted them to do. With moving up to the 7 spot, they secured QB Josh Allen from Wyoming along with Virginia Tech LB Tremaine Edmunds at the 16th overall spot. Both of these draft selections came with a trade; the first with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the second with the Baltimore Ravens. In trading, the Bills gave up quality picks to pursue talent that belief can bolster their roster and fill holes.
With mixed reactions coming from Bills fans on the selection of Josh Allen, NFL insiders and analysts graded the Bills. Buffalo seemed to sit around that “B-” average with most people not completely impressed with the moves the Bills made
Mel Kiper, Jr.
Arguably one of the most influential and listened to voices when it comes to the NFL draft, Kiper was not fond of the pick. Kiper labeled the section under the “Question Mark” category as he does not think this was the ideal choice for the Bills. When asked about the pick Kiper was quoted as saying:
“Buffalo has too many holes to give up premium picks to move up five spots. This could turn out well if Allen isn’t rushed into playing; Buffalo does have AJ McCarron as starter for 2018.”
Mike Mayock
Mayock sang Brandon Beane’s praises as he has shown he really likes this pick for the Bills. Mayock was impressed with the persevering that Beane showed in his efforts to trade up to get the Bills quarterback of the future without sacrificing it all to get to number 2.
Chad Reuter: B
Chad Reuter of NFL.com liked this trade mainly because of the movement of former Bills OT Cordy Glenn and the draft picks Buffalo received from Cincinnati. Reuter does have his skepticism around Josh Allen’s arm accuracy as he notes that, “His arm inaccuracy makes him a risk that many teams wouldn’t want to take”. This long-standing problem in that Allen is the least accurate QB in the draft shows his weaknesses as a QB but nothing a little work in training camp can’t fix.
Pete Prisco: A+
Pete Prisco of CBS Sports was in awe of the moves the Buffalo Bills made to go get Allen. He notes that “They get the best NFL in the draft and they had to go make the move to get him”. With the Bills jumping five spots to go get Allen, they must have seen something in him that warranted moving that many picks.
Bucky Brooks: B+
Brooks believes that Allen was the Bills guy all along. Brooks compared Allen to Cam Newtown as they both possess athletic excellence. He senses that though the similarities are there comparing him to Cam, there are differences which separate Allen from current NFL Quarterbacks
SB Nation: D+
It is safe to say that Dan Kadar at SB Nation was not very impressed with the Josh Allen pick. With the other Josh in Josh Rosen available at the 7 spot, many people were thinking the Bills were going up in order to get Rosen. But when this was not the case, many people think the Bills made the wrong decision and drafted the wrong Josh. SB Nation believes that Allen has the tools in his bag to get the job done but his inaccuracy is a question mark that will be hanging over him in the meantime.
Sports Illustrated: C+
Most of this grades comes from the same speculation around Allen’s inaccuracy. Though SI believes that Allen is “the most pro-ready QB in this draft”, his inaccuracy has been brought up again and will continue to anon arrival in Buffalo.