Brandon Beane hilariously points out how much he put his job on the line for Josh Allen

The notion of parity in the NFL is overblown. Every year, football fans talk themselves into the idea that their team can go from worst to first, but the reality is that it's extremely difficult to break into that elite tier of teams that have a chance at a championship each year.

As the Super Bowl recently proved, it's the Kansas City Chiefs and then it's everyone else. One of the teams nipping at Kansas City's heels, though, is the Buffalo Bills, and the biggest reason for that is the presence of Josh Allen at quarterback.

Josh Allen is one of the very best players in the league, but didn't come in with that reputation

It's Allen's presence that gives head coach Sean McDermott (subscription required) the confidence to say, "It's not a matter of if. It's just a matter of when" when discussing the chances of Buffalo winning a Super Bowl.

It wasn't always this way. Long after the franchise became the most famous bridesmaid in sports for losing four straight Super Bowls, the Bills were known for being just another team. From 2000 until 2017, the Bills never won 10 games in a season, a stat that's difficult to believe.

That's when general manager Brandon Beane made a move that would vault the Bills above the teeming masses of the NFL's perennially mediocre teams and into a new stratosphere. In the 2018 draft, Beane sent the Tampa Bay Bucs two second-round picks for the right to move up five spots in the first round of the draft. Once there, he drafted Josh Allen, a talented but raw prospect from the University of Wyoming.

Allen was the third quarterback taken in that draft, and far from a sure thing. Buffalo was pilloried for the pick by most media members, who pointed towards Allen's low completion percentage and lack of top competition in college as reasons he would be a bust.

Brandon Beane has been proven right in the years since, and he recently offered a hilarious take on his mindset in taking a chance on Allen.

"We got criticized a little bit for how much we gave up for Josh, and I'm like, well if he doesn't work out, I'm not gonna be here anyway, and if he does work out, nobody's gonna give a sh*t."

We live in a cynical world, where many fans question whether their team's general managers are actually trying to make the best decisions for the team, or for themselves and their own job security. We hear it all the time, especially in the NBA. Gut the team and build a war chest of draft picks then dodge any calls for your job by saying, "We're in a five-year rebuilding plan."

Beane's attitude is so refreshing. He and his scouts identified a player that they believed in, and they pushed all their chips to the middle to go get him, knowing full well that if he didn't pan out, they'd be the first ones in front of the firing squad. The Bills went 6-10 in Allen's first year, and have averaged 12 wins a season in the four years since.

There are a slew of quarterbacks in the upcoming draft that could end up being franchise-changing players. They could also be busts. Will any GMs follow Beane's lead by pinning their hopes (and their jobs) on moving up to take one of them? You may be criticized in the moment, but if he doesn't work out, you're not gonna be there anyway, and if he does, nobody's gonna give a sh*t. Take a chance!