John Elway admits passing on Josh Allen was his biggest regret as Broncos GM

Give Denver Broncos legend John Elway a ton of credit for admitting defeat when it came to passing on Josh Allen in the 2018 NFL Draft. Elway was still calling the shots in the Broncos front office at the time. While Allen was a high risk, high reward type of prospect coming out of Wyoming, Denver opted to go with NC State passer rusher Bradley Chubb at No. 5 overall instead of Allen, who went at No. 7.

In the years since Peyton Manning retired, Denver has had a miserable time at getting the quarterback position right. The Broncos may have something in Bo Nix, or just more of the same... Regardless, Elway really liked the guy coming out of Wyoming, but may not have had the stones to pull the trigger and draft the formerly controversial quarterback prospect. I bet he wish that he did.

During an appearance on Barstool Sports' "Pardon My Take," PFT Commenter was able to extract this nugget out of Elway on Allen during an episode of his show.

"I know he is, and last year I played golf with him. And I'm wondering how long is it going to take him to realize that I passed on him and took Bradley Chubb instead? And it took him two and a half holes. And I love him, right? Just, you know, he was my type and you're right that was probably my biggest mistake of my GM days was not taking Josh," said Elway.

Here is a clip from Elway's appearance, discussing passing on Allen in the draft.

Allen was the third quarterback taken in the 2018 NFL Draft. Outside of two-time NFL MVP Lamar Jackson, who went No. 32 to the Baltimore Ravens, Allen has been the best quarterback in his class.

We can only imagine how different things would have been if the Buffalo Bills did not end up with him.

John Elway admits defeat when passing on Josh Allen in 2018 NFL Draft

Look. I am not going to rake Elway over the coals for this. What you have to remember is at the time, there were five highly sought-after quarterbacks entering the draft in Allen, Jackson, Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold and Josh Rosen. Mason Rudolph was well-liked before he went in the third round out of Oklahoma State to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Allen had all the physical traits, but was so far from a finished product...

Keep in mind that Chubb was an outstanding player at NC State. He was an all-conference performer over in the ACC. He may have made it to a pair of Pro Bowls already, but he now plays for the Miami Dolphins after being traded over there mid-season back in 2022. Allen was clearly a player NFL front-office executives liked more than the common man. College football fans remember an erratic player.

Allen's biggest detractors poked and prodded at his accuracy issues and his lack of comp playing at Wyoming in the Mountain West. In games against quality Power Five competition such as Iowa and Oregon, he shrank. In fact, his penultimate season in Laramie was better than his final season. Allen was on everyone's draft radar, but he did not exactly enter the NFL with everyone clamoring for him.

In truth, he went to the perfect situation for him. Sean McDermott was a highly respected defensive mind with something to prove as an upstart head coach. He was smart enough to have someone with a better feel for the quarterback position develop him in former Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. By the end of Allen's second pro season, we all knew we were looking at a future superstar.

The 2018 NFL Draft was a loaded one. While the Broncos came out alright in some capacities by taking Chubb, other star players in the league like Allen, Quenton Nelson, Roquan Smith and Minkah Fitzpatrick went in the first few picks after Denver took Chubb No. 5 overall. Once again, few people expected for Allen to develop into this type of player, but Elway seems to have thought he could be.

For as many hits as Elway has as a front-office executive in his career, he still remembers the misses.