Entering the 2023 season, the AFC is clearly the more talented conference in the NFL and the reason is due in large part to the quarterbacks. The reason the Buffalo Bills are in the discussion in the conference is that they have one of those talented quarterbacks in Josh Allen.
This past season, Patrick Mahomes put to rest any debate about who was the best with his second Super Bowl ring. The debate really begins at number two and it will include players like Allen, Joe Burrow, Jalen Hurts, and Justin Herbert.
Recently, Pro Football Focus put together their QB rankings for the upcoming season and put the Buffalo Bills quarterback in that second spot behind Mahomes but ahead of the other quarterbacks.
"If Mahomes is the obvious starting point, the next two spots are a toss-up between Buffalo’s Josh Allen and Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow. Each player is capable of elite play and outstanding levels, but the tiebreaker is Allen's rushing ability. It may not be a deal-breaker in every game, but there will be gotta-have-it situations where Allen is virtually unstoppable because of how many different ways he can beat a defense. Burrow can’t bring that to the table."
Could this season be the best yet for Josh Allen with the Buffalo Bills?
Since the Buffalo Bills drafted Josh Allen in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft, he has seemingly gotten better every year until this past season. This past year, Allen appear to plateau and this isn't necessarily a bad thing because he still played at a very high level.
An elbow injury later in the season probably played a factor in his performance down the stretch. This offseason, the discussion has been around Allen evolving his playing style and not running as much.
If Allen does that though, he loses the advantage he has over a quarterback like Burrow. While this ability won't go away completely, he does need to improve as a passer if he wants to remain as effective as he has.
The good news is that the Buffalo Bills have done a great job of putting more talent around him by improving the offensive line with Connor McGovern and O'Cyrus Torrence. They have added a player like Dalton Kincaid, who has excellent hands and is a reliable pass catcher, as well as giving James Cook a bigger role. He is a better pass catcher out of the backfield than Devin Singletary.
The potential is there that Josh Allen could have his best season even while pulling back on the thing that sets him apart from some of the other quarterbacks in the league.