Will other teams make draft mistakes because of Josh?

[MAJBobby]

On 12/16/2020 at 5:41 PM, BisonMan said:

We've heard it over and over again. Josh Allen's growth from year 2 to year 3 is unprecedented. Nonetheless, it's likely that teams will look to repeat the Bills' formula by picking a QB with the dreaded "potential" without seeming to understand the internal and environmental factors that allowed Allen to thrive. 

 

Internal

Aside from his physical skills, Allen has two traits that have allowed him to have this massive improvement. First, Allen has a massive chip on his shoulders after being turned down by every college program when he came out of high school and got only one offer after his stint in JUCO. People think Tom Brady has a chip because he was drafted so late coming out of Michigan? Josh has been carrying this chip on his shoulder since high school. Second, Allen is a lot more studious a QB than people have given him credit for. His smarts have allowed him the ability learn more quickly than a lot of other players who never seem to "get it". Even this year, Allen has adjusted to changing defensive strategies to win games down the stretch. His drive has also allowed him to work more on his "craft" to become a better thrower of the ball. 

 

Environmental

The Bills obviously have a very strong coaching staff and culture. That allows players the support they need to mature and learn. The team also has put in the pieces around him to allow him to succeed and grow with what his potential allows. He's often compared to Roethlisberger, but Pittsburgh surrounded Ben with a strong running game to protect his lack of skills early in his career. The Bills created an environment to stretch Allen's skills. 

 

I can see other teams with a weaker culture and less stable management reaching for QBs with "potential" in the coming years to find a Josh Allen but his background, internal drive and skillset are very hard to replicate. Add to that, the difficulty of creating the right team around him makes what the Bills have done, very unique in my memory. I don't really see a ceiling for Allen at this point. He could easily get even better with more experience. 

 

Other teams should be very wary of trying to replicate what has happened in Buffalo. I see a lot of mistakes being made in the coming years with teams chasing the next Josh Allen.

The BIGGEST thing all the numbers, analytics, stats and everything used to rank these QBs.  The one thing that has yet to be accurately measured is HEART and WANT TO.  The "IT" factor.  This will always take scouts, leadership, coaches talking to the young men and deciding the "want to be great" of a player.  Bills evaluated that correctly, and Allen did not let him down with his work ethic and desire to be great.

 

It takes ALOT to do what Josh did.  He completely changed his mechanics, and it is being committed to muscle memory, that is something that is VERY hard to do, many couldnt and it all has to do with the internal drive of Allen.