When the Buffalo Bills made the decision to trade up from #12 to #7 in the draft, they made the choice to trade up for Josh Allen, or should we say the hopeful second coming of Jim Kelly. Allen was a member of this years’ QB draft class, which was a very strong one in years. Depending on how you looked at Allen’s game, he could have been ranked as the best QB available, or the fourth to fifth best.

At 6’5 with big hands, Allen has a lot of potential to succeed but has risks to his game. Some may even argue he has the biggest risk for bust status. The biggest argument against Allen his completion percentage. In three seasons at Wyoming, he completed only 56.2% of his passes. Not exactly what you want out of your quarterback. Although what he can lack in accuracy, he makes up for in power and strength to throw the ball. He can launch a ball very fast and if the accuracy improves, the league had better watch out.

The last Bills quarterback that was drafted in the first round was J.P Losman and Bills fans know how that turned out. Before Losman, it was Kelly who was drafted in the first round. Now, Kelly is arguably the best quarterback in Bills history. Coming out of the University of Miami, Kelly played four years compared to Allen’s three at Wyoming. Allen and Kelly’s stats are not far off from each other.

The Similarities…

In three seasons at Wyoming, Allen passed for 5,066 yards, 44 touchdowns and 21 interceptions. He completed 56.2% of his passes and averaged about 8 yards per pass. Kelly played four seasons at Miami and passed for 5,228 yards, 33 touchdowns and 28 interceptions. Kelly completed 55.6% of his passes in college.

Let’s not forget, both Allen and Kelly were the third QB taken in their draft class.

 

Wait It Out

One thing is for sure about Allen, and it is that he is no Andrew Luck. He is not ready to start from day one like Luck was. The best thing to do for Allen is allow him to adjust to the game for a year, learn the playbook and get used to the speed and tempo of the game. Sean McDermott and Brandon Beane are heading into their second go with the Bills with the potential next Bills franchise quarterback in their corner.

Allen needs development on his game. Sometimes waiting it out to get better results is the best thing to do.

 

Brandon Ray is a Managing Editor for Full Press Coverage who covers the Buffalo Bills. Follow him on Twitter at @brandon_ray79 and @FPC_Bills for Buffalo Bills coverage.