Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
Josh Allen has an arm. And the Buffalo Bills have an offense that’s built as a complement to Allen’s defining throw power.
Credit to Bills’ general manager Brandon Beane and head coach Sean McDermott. For better or worse, the two of them have worked wonders to build a roster that’s fitting of their quarterback’s play style. With deep threats like John Brown and now Stefon Diggs on the roster, the Buffalo offense is a big play waiting to happen every time they take the field.
Of course, potential and reality fail to overlap from time to time, and the Buffalo Bills are no exception. Because for as trigger happy as Allen was on his downfield passing last season– the accuracy on his deep ball didn’t necessarily match his volume, and the Bills’ quarterback completed just 33% of his passes that traveled more than 20 yards.
Having a talented pass-catcher like Diggs should ideally help Allen’s accuracy, but after ranking dead last in the NFL in completion percentage in 2019, Allen will have a long way to climb before he can hit the league average. Expect an uptick in overall accuracy, deep-ball efficiency, and even touchdown total with Allen’s third-year growth being aided by having a truly talented receiver in Diggs– but not by much.
But as has always been the case with Allen, he’s more than just a tall guy with a big arm. He’s a tall guy with a big arm who might be the best runner of any quarterback not named Lamar Jackson. And after breaking 100 carries and finding the endzone nine times on the ground last year, Buffalo has shown they have no aversion to their quarterback taking off and running.
Unfortunately, with that innate rushing ability has come a rough turnover bug. In 28 career games, Allen has fumbled 22 times in his career, along with 21 interceptions, two problems that haven’t shown any sign of going away. They might linger into 2020, and put a damper on what should be Allen’s best passing season as a pro.
23 Passing TD’s — 13 INT’s — 61% Completion Percentage — 3,400 Yards 7 Rushing TD’s — 550 Yards
