Denver Broncos: Let’s draft Josh Allen
By Bruce Matson
Let’s take a look at Josh Allen, quarterback from Wyoming, and the potential impact he could have on the Denver Broncos offense.
If the Denver Broncos can’t snag a quarterback in free agency then they will need to take advantage of the options that will be available at their disposal in the draft. They have the fifth pick in the draft and they will have the opportunity to select one of the top quarterbacks in the draft.
Here are the previous players that we previously covered for Denver’s first-round draft pick in the “Let’s Draft” series:
The goal with this series is to cover all possible scenarios with their draft pick. The fifth spot in the draft is prime real estate and the Broncos have a lot of options with their pick. They can trade back, trade up a few spots and they could stay put and take the best available option. Considering they have a big need a quarterback, the Broncos could draft the best available option or just take one of the quarterbacks that falls into their laps.
Out of high school, Josh Allen didn’t receive any offers from any Division I programs. He elected to start his journey at Reedley Junior College where he excelled. From there, he eventually received an invitation to join the Wyoming Cowboys.
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Allen was the third string quarterback during his first season with the Cowboys. The team was led by veteran quarterback Cameron Coffman who passed for 1,939 yards, 18 touchdowns and ten interceptions.
Things picked up for Allen in 2016 when he passed for 3,203 yards, 28 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. He also rushed for 523 yards and seven touchdowns. His best game of the season came against Utah State where he passed for 261 yards and four touchdowns.
This year, in 11 games, Allen passed for 1,812 yards and 16 touchdowns while throwing six interceptions. His best game of the season came against Texas State where he passed for 219 yards and three interceptions.
One key drawback when you look at his game logs, is that he only has two games with over 300-yards passing in his career. He also has a 56.2 percent completion rate for his career which is well below average for a high-end quarterback prospect. His best year was in 2016 when he had a 1.8:1 touchdown to interception ratio, meaning he paired his touchdowns passes with an interception 55 percent of the time.
At 6-foot-5 and 233 pounds, Allen has the prototypical size of a starting quarterback in the NFL. He is also very mobile and has the ability to outrun linebackers and defensive ends while scrambling out of the pocket. Not only is he capable of scrambling for extra yardage when the pocket collapses but he’s also very good at throwing the football while on the run. With a rocket for an arm, Allen can make all the throws. Compared to all of the quarterback prospects in this year’s draft, he may have the strongest arm out of all of them.
Poor decision making has haunted him during his entire collegiate career. He averages an interception in 1.19 games. Allen also has games where he struggles to connect with his receivers. He needs to do better at going through his progressions and making his reads before he can become a starting quarterback in the NFL. The level of competition that he played against was well below average compared to most quarterback prospects.
He may have trouble developing to the speed of the game once he gets in the NFL. We saw some quarterbacks from small schools, like Carson Wentz, make the transition, but those are few and far between. The fact that he was very inconsistent while playing smaller schools is a major concern, because it’s hard to tell how he will develop when he has to play against NFL level competition everyday in practice.
Even though he is projected to be a first round pick, Allen is still considered a project. The Broncos already have a “project-quarterback” that they drafted in the first-round (Paxton Lynch) on their roster. I don’t think it would be wise to go down this rabbit hole again. Allen needs to go to place where he can sit for a year or two and Denver’s situation isn’t built for that right now. Their window is closing and they need to win games now, and they need a quarterback prospect that is NFL ready.
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Physically, Allen has all the tools, but he might not be the right prospect for the Broncos. He has the potential to develop into a solid quarterback, but Denver isn’t the best fit for his current skill-sets.