ESPN Analysts’ ‘AFC East QB Rankings’ Will Make Buffalo Bills Fans Laugh
I remember the spring of 2018 like it was yesterday. The reason I have such vivid memories of that time period is because of one reason: Josh Allen.
If you remember, Allen was one of the top quarterbacks for the 2018 NFL Draft, and there was even some talk he would go number one overall to the Cleveland Browns.
Allen, however, didn't go number one and there was a lot of chatter from both draft experts and fans about his accuracy concerns and the fact he played at Wyoming (lack of competition).
Allen was taken by the Buffalo Bills after general manager Brandon Beane traded up to the seventh pick to take the Wyoming gunslinger.
Allen had an up-and-down rookie season with many struggles. He did show promise, however. The Bills went 10-6 in his second season and he took big strides in protecting the ball and making plays (only throwing nine interceptions). 2020 is of course the year Allen went crazy and threw for over 4,500 yards and was even in the league MVP running.
Allen's now considered a star and one of the best QB's in football, so it's ALWAYS fun looking back on the old (bad) takes from NFL analysts who were sure he would be a bust.
I saw this on Twitter this past weekend. It was a segment of NFL Live on ESPN before the 2020 season took place. Dan Graziano, Ryan Clark, and Field Yates were asked to rank the AFC QB's (this was just prior to the Patriots signing Cam Newton). The results are making Bills fans laugh pretty hard.
If you're wondering, yes, Allen definitely had a better 2019 than Jets quarterback Sam Darnold (who was just traded to the Carolina Panthers, after an abysmal 2020 campaign).
Tua Tagovailoa hadn't even taken a SNAP YET in the NFL...yes, all three ranked Tua ahead of Allen going into 2020...wow.
I shouldn't be surprised because of all the people who wanted Allen to fail to prove their 2018-pre-draft narrative that he would be a bust, but this one was a doozie.