Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen is “one of the most overrated players in the NFL” according to one league executive.
“He’s got immense talent, but he makes a lot of mistakes,” the executive told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. “He’s not very developed to win at the line of scrimmage, he tends to focus on targets, he’s more of a shooter than an accurate passer, he forces passes into traffic.”
The comments were part of Fowler’s annual positional rankings, which are derived from soliciting input from various NFL executives, coaches and scouts. Allen was the No. 3 quarterback behind Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs and Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals.
The 28-year-old threw for 4,306 yards and 29 touchdowns while rushing for 524 yards and 15 scores in 2024, finishing in the top five in MVP voting for the third time in the past four years.
The Bills also won the AFC East for the fourth consecutive season and earned their fifth consecutive trip to the playoffs.
If you had to build a roster from scratch, there aren’t many players you’d pick over Allen.
However, criticism of the 28-year-old is starting to get louder due to two main factors. Buffalo has been eliminated in the AFC divisional round every year since its trip to the AFC title game in 2020, and Allen has thrown 47 regular-season interceptions during that span, which Fowler said is the most in the NFL.
Last November, the Bills lost 24-22 to the Denver Broncos, a result that left them with a 5-5 record on the season. Allen completed 15 of 26 passes for 177 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, and lost one fumble.
While it wasn’t the most important game in the grand scheme of things, it was particularly instructive to see how people reacted. Skeptics framed Allen’s performance in a broader context.
Allen will almost certainly be a pushover for his entire career. Part of what sets him apart is his raw throwing ability and his willingness to attempt passes that aren’t within the reach of other quarterbacks. But that inevitably means bad throws will look really bad.
Brett Favre is the obvious comparison. The Green Bay Packers legend is fourth all-time in touchdowns and first in interceptions. Dan Marino, seventh in touchdowns and eighth in interceptions, could be equally frustrating at times.
With Allen, you’re still willing to accept the sacrifice because the good far outweighs the bad. He ranked third in QBR (69.6) last year, according to ESPN.com, after finishing second (73.4) in 2022.
Until the Bills win a Super Bowl with the two-time Pro Bowler at the helm, though, there will likely be a considerable volume of voices calling him overrated or questioning whether he’s… the type.
