Buffalo Bills: Josh Allen named best player drafted at seven since 2006
The 2018 NFL Draft was a pivotal draft for the Buffalo Bills and set them up for their upward trajectory the past few seasons that has now included two playoff trips in the past three years, as well as an AFC East division title and a trip to the AFC Championship Game last year. A big reason for their recent success has been tied to the development of Josh Allen.
Allen is coming off a season where he threw for over 4,500 passing yards, 45 total touchdowns, and a completion percentage of nearly 70%. Pro Football Focus recently named the best player selected at every pick in the first round since 2006 and Allen was named the best player at seventh overall. Michael Renner wrote:
"7. 2018 BUFFALO BILLS: QB JOSH ALLEN, WYOMINGWe had our choice of Josh Allens at No. 7 overall, but the quarterback’s elite breakout 2020 campaign makes this one easy. His 90.9 overall grade this past regular season ranked fifth in the NFL."
In 2018, the Bills entered that NFL Draft knowing they needed to get the player they believed would be their franchise quarterback. Fortunately, that year had a number of highly-rated prospects from Baker Mayfield to Sam Darnold to Josh Allen and Josh Rosen. Of those four, Allen was considered to be the player who had the most upside because of all the physical tools but there were accuracy concerns and whether or not Allen could make that jump from the University of Wyoming to the NFL.
He certainly has answered those questions and Allen, along with Lamar Jackson who was selected at the end of the first round, have made their case of being the best quarterbacks selected from that draft class. The Baltimore Ravens quarterback has already won an MVP, back in 2019, and Allen this past year finished as runner up.
Next. Which Bills players should fans watch for at minicamp?. dark
Entering this season, the Buffalo Bills are considered to be one of the best teams in the league and viewed as potential Super Bowl contenders. They have one of the most complete rosters in the league but one of the reasons they are in that top tier of teams is due to their decision to select Josh Allen seventh overall in 2018.