The Buffalo Bills appear to be set at quarterback for the upcoming season with Josh Allen, Kyle Allen and Matt Barkley under contract for the 2023 season. However, this hasn’t stopped the front office from doing their due diligence on the position, and have shown interest in Holton Ahlers.
According to Pro Football Network’s Tony Pauline, the Buffalo Bills along with the Green Bay Packers and New York Giants have shown interest in the former ECU quarterback.
In five seasons at ECU, Ahlers completed 60% of his passes for 13,933 passing yards with 97 passing touchdowns and 28 interceptions. This past season was by far his best as he completed 67% of his passes for 3,708 passing yards with 28 passing touchdowns and five interceptions.
Holton Ahlers is an intriguing prospect for the Buffalo Bills in 2023 NFL Draft
Josh Allen is one of the most unique quarterbacks in the NFL because he is a mobile quarterback with great size for the position and incredible arm strength. There isn’t another quarterback like Allen but Holton Ahlers has some similar skills that could make him a good option as a development quarterback.
The scouting report on Sports Illustrated by The NFL Draft Bible wrote:
"Ahlers is a large, mobile quarterback who extends plays for large gains downfield, but his throwing motion and arm talent put limitations on his upside as a prospect."
Ahlers has great size at 6’3″ and 230 pounds and is only about two inches shorter than Allen and seven pounds lighter. However, this is still bigger than most quarterbacks in the NFL and he was very mobile at ECU with 469 career rushing attempts and 25 rushing touchdowns.
This is not to say that he is the next Josh Allen but there are certainly some similarities which is why it makes sense for the Buffalo Bills to be interested. If the Bills are looking for a quarterback who eventually could develop into a long-term backup to Josh Allen, Holton Ahlers could be a good fit.
At this point, Ahlers looks like a late Day 3 prospect but more than likely the Bills would try to sign him as an undrafted free agent if he goes undrafted in the 2023 NFL Draft.