2018 NFL Draft profile: Josh Allen is the classic boom or bust prospect
Former Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen looks the part of a franchise quarterback but his game leaves much to be desired as he’s a boom-or-bust name in the 2018 NFL Draft.
If you don’t follow college football but love the NFL and you’re hearing all this talk about a quarterback from Wyoming being a potential No. 1 overall pick, you may be curious or skeptical.
Either feeling would be accurate because Josh Allen is a polarizing prospect who has fans who believe he’ll be a future franchise quarterback and there are his detractors who think he’s a bust waiting to happen.
Allen struggled as a junior in 2017 as he had to adjust to his weapons and center were gone and he missed time late with an injury before returning to light it up in the team’s bowl game. But it was in 2016 when Allen opened up eyes across the country with his rare arm talent.
Is this a case of a player dominating the lower levels of college football or a player who has the skill-set to develop into an elite quarterback in the NFL worthy of spending a high first round pick on? Below, you’ll find my evaluation of Allen based on his career at Wyoming and the NFL combine.
Josh Allen, QB, Wyoming
Allen is the most polarizing quarterback in the draft. While Mel Kiper Jr. thinks he’ll be the No. 1 pick there are some who wouldn’t spend a pick on him. Allen looks like he came out of central casting. He’s 6-5, 233 pounds and put on an absolute show at the combine, launching passes 80 yards and running a 4.75 40.
He has the best arm talent in the draft and can make some of the toughest throws and highlight-reel passes look effortless. But what he has in arm strength, he sorely lacks in accuracy and that’s the biggest red flag I have with his game.
Allen barely completed half his passes at Wyoming and you rarely see quarterbacks improve their precision passing in the NFL. He can begin to try by learning to put some touch on throws and settle for the checkdown vs. gambling on the deep bomb.
Too often, Allen relied on his arm talent and that was good enough to win games at Wyoming, but it won’t in the NFL.
Bottom line is some team is going to fall in love with his physical ability and think they can coach him up. He’s a risky pick who could be a Jay Cutler-type or he could be the next Ryan Leaf, albeit without the character and locker room issues the former No. 2 pick behind Peyton Manning had.
Draft Projection: Top 3