When the Buffalo Bills took Quarterback Josh Allen with the seventh overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, all the talk was about how much throwing power he had. While his throwing power is as advertised; Allen has the abilities to take off and run as well.
In his rookie year, Allen had 2,074 yards passing with ten touchdowns and twelve interceptions in eleven starts; however he also led the Bills in rushing yards this year with 631 yards on the ground with eight more touchdowns (most in the NFL). The majority of Allen’s runs weren’t designed running plays unlike other scrambling/mobile quarterbacks. While his completion percentage isn’t a desirable percentage (52.8%); Allen’s wide receivers, had a serious issue with dropping his passes several times in most games.
This is equally impressive for a Bills team who lost their three starting offensive linemen on the left side from the 2017 season in Cordy Glenn (traded to the Bengals to move up in the NFL Draft to select Allen), Richie Incognito and Eric Wood (both retired due to injuries and health concerns). If the Bills re-tool their offensive line this off-season, Allen will have more time to throw his long ball; which he didn’t have much time to do so this season.
Besides the offensive line that needs a re-tooling, the team will have to upgrade its receiver corps and hopefully get a true number one wide receiver to complement some of the current corps including undrafted rookie Robert Foster and second year second round pick Zay Jones, both whom have built up a solid rapport with.
If the Bills do those two major overhauls on offense and continue to build on their solid defensive foundation, the team’s arrow could be looking up for years to come with Josh Allen leading the way.