QB — Josh Allen 7.24
Scout-Jack Bourgeois
College: Wyoming
Height: 6'5
Weight: 233
40-Time: 4.61
Hand: 10 1/8”
Wonderlic: 37
Athleticism
Q.A.B. 8.00 superior Q.A.B. for a 6'5 QB, hard to bring down, bounces off tacklers, quick feet allow him to make defenders miss in space and in the pocket.
Flexibility 6.00 He definitely doesn’t play stiff but with his height/size doesn’t allow him to be the most flexible athlete.
C.O.D. 7.00 Often avoids pressure and gets away from possible sacks with his cuts and C.O.D.
Explosiveness/Speed 7.00 Doesn’t possess elite top end speed but accelerates very quickly once he decides to take off.
Pocket Mobility/Avoid Pressure 8.00 Excellent pocket mobility, knows how to slide/side step in pocket, tough to bring down. Was constantly under pressure the entire 2017 season, but tends to keep his eyes downfield, rather than to take off and run when protection breaks down.
Passing Skills
Quick Release/Mechanics 7.00 Mechanically sound throwing motion, slightly extended wind up, very quick release, great follow through, great transfer of weight from back to front foot and torques hips very well. strong wrist flick. Needs to improve his footwork and pointing his tows to improve his accuracy.
Delivery 6.00 Slightly inconsistent delivery due to anticipated pressure and hurried throws, grew some slightly bad habits behind a below average Oline. Inaccurate when restless, forces throws but deadly precision when scrambling away from pressure.
Short Accuracy 6.50 Needs to add touch to shorter throws, slight tendency to let the easy/short passes get away from him.
Intermediate Accuracy 7.50 His low completion percentage looks to have more to do with lack of surrounding talent rather than inaccurate throws, can thread the needle but could improve on throwing his WR’s open.
Deep Accuracy 8.50 Excellent deep ball accuracy, can throw 50+ yards with a flick of his wrist, while off balance and still make a perfect throw. Most accurate long ball in college football. Rodgers-esque hail mary like arm.
Big Play Ability 9.00 Massive big play ability, can extend broken plays and escape pressure in the pocket, always looking down field instead of trying to take off and run.
Avoid Errors/Mistakes 5.50 Could definitely improve in this area, forces bad throws and relies too much on his arm strength at times, but was forced to win or lose it for his team his entire college career due to lack of talent and absence of a running game.
Arm Strength 9.50 Hands downs the strongest arm in the draft. Can accurately sling it 50+ yards while on the run, off his back foot, or completely off balance.
Footwork 7.00 Good footwork especially for 6'5, moves more like Cam Newton. Though he has tripped over himself a few times when deciding to take off. Great lower body mechanics, steps into throws and distributes power and weight well from back to front foot.
Competitiveness
Toughness 8.00 Missed only 2 games in his college career due to a shoulder sprain. Often puts his shoulder down to take on tacklers, rarely ever slid. Has taken some hard hits but continues to get up for more. Does not shy away from contact and willing to fight for extra yards.
Intangibles/Leadership 8.00 Very vocal on the sidelines, was the captain and sole leader of his college team. Possess the unteachable intangibles that can’t be defined on a stat sheet.
Poise in Pocket 6.50 Continuous pressure in his face all season long, willingness to stand in pocket and deliver throws with protection breaking down around him, but also has the instincts to sense pressure and escape the pocket to make throws on the run
Consistency/Motor 7.00 High motor athlete, slightly below average accuracy and decision making consistency. Makes more wow plays than questionable throws.
Production 7.00 Productive in both the pass and run game. Big decrease in production from 2016 to 2017 season, the loss of what little talent was on the offense was drafted last season, leaving Josh Allen with no surrounding talent.
Improvisational Ability 8.50 Roethlisberger like lower body strength, hard to bring down. Rodgers like ability to extend plays and keep his eyes downfield. A huge amount of his production comes from broken plays.
Intelligence
Instincts 7.50 Impressive football instincts, ability to sense backside pressure and escape negative plays.
Blitz/Coverage Recognition 6.50 Certainly has room to grow reading coverages and blitz packages but does come from system that required him to make multiple reads at times.
Decision Making 6.00 Was forced to win or lose the game for his team due to absence of a run game or quality defensive play, often leading to some head scratching throws and interceptions, but could easily be corrected if given the proper help.
Learn/Retain 7.50 Able to grasp new offense, remarkable ability to let go and move on from negative plays/turnovers, learns from his mistakes but needs adapt to the NFL by living to play another down.
Strengths
Allen’s biggest strengths include his raw athleticism , his cannon for an arm, and the ability to extend plays with his legs. He is a big bodied QB, who’s hard to take down, can escape pressure and create plays down field. His vision to locate the open receiver is highly under rated and his accuracy when on the run is jaw dropping.
Weaknesses
Needs to improve his short to mid range accuracy, as well as his decision making. Allen has a tendency to rely too much on his arm strength, trying to thread the needle into too tight of windows, inevitably leading to turnovers. The addition of NFL caliber talent should help with him attempting to do too much. Mental errors and accuracy will be his biggest question makes coming into the draft.
Big Picture
Highest upside amongst all QB’s in the 2018 draft class, a 6'5 233 pound dual threat who’s highlights jump off of the tape reminiscent of a Newton, Rodgers, Roethlisberger hybrid. His 80+ yard arm strength, ability to extend plays and make something out of nothing is what has his stock soaring. Constantly breaking tackles, keeping his eyes down field and rocketing deep balls with surgical precision is the reason Allen goes top 10 and possibly number one overall. There’s several concerns regarding Allen, between his low completion percentage, decision making and inaccuracies, he’s probably the biggest low floor, high ceiling player of 2018. I believe these concerns can be attributed to the talent level of a small school such as Wyoming, and though Josh Allen is possibly the drafts biggest risk, I firmly believe he’s worth the #1 overall pick. His combination of leadership, love of the game, elite size and athleticism, along with the arm talent comparable to QB in the NFL makes him a sure fire first rounder.
