Personal Background

Attended Firebaugh High School, Firebaugh, California (Fresno County)

Raised and worked on family ranch along with three siblings

Family cultivates pima cotton, cantaloupes and wheat

Attended Fresno State Bulldogs football camps regularly growing up

Wasn’t offered a D-1 scholarship

Played one season at Reedley Junior College

Sent emails to every head coach, offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator asking for a shot; totaled about 1,000 emails.

Former North Dakota State head coach Craig Bohl, then the head coach of the Wyoming Cowboys, visited the Allen Ranch, and brought Allen to Laramie.

Athletic Background

High school

Late bloomer, as a senior was 6’4″, 184 pounds

0 star recruit coming out of high school

Played basketball and baseball; threw a 91 mph fastball

College

Maxwell Award Watch List

Worked with QB Coach George Whitfield (2017)

Injury history

2015

Broke his collarbone in seven spots

Production

27 FBS Games

Pro Football Reference (career statistics) Attempts: 649 Completions: 365 Completion percentage: 56.2% Yards: 5,066 Yards per attempt: 7.8 Touchdowns: 44 Interceptions: 21 Rating: 137.7

Pro Football Focus (2017 statistics) Adjusted completion percentage: 66.5% (48th) Adjusted completion percentage vs. pressure: 52.6% (42nd) Adjusted completion percentage vs. blitz: 60.4% (48th) Deep pass adjusted completion percentage: 41.5% (34th) Drop rate: 4.8% (43rd) Average depth of target: 11.6 (7th) Third highest grade in the red zone



Film Reviewed

Air Force

Colorado State

Central Michigan

Iowa

Nebraska (2016)

New Mexico

Oregon

UNLV

Utah State

Measurables

Year: Redshirt junior

Height: 6′ 5″

Weight: 237 pounds

Official 40 time: 4.75

Hand size: 10 1/8″

Strengths

Prototypical build, measurables and athleticism for the position

Very competitive; Used to carrying his team

Can be a threat in the run game

A fighter who doesn’t get brought down easily inside or outside of the pocket; can consistently break tackles with his play strength or athleticism and extend plays

Very good understanding of where to go with the ball versus single high looks or typical coverages versus certain formations (such as trips bunch sets) Includes the basic two- and three-man route combinations that attack half of the field, such as: snag/spot/ smash /levels and flood concepts Showed mastery of these concepts from shotgun, under center or off of play action Can quickly re-acquire targets downfield outside of the play structure

Above average recognition of man coverage and what mismatch to exploit

Senses defensive ends losing contain and is able to evade the rush and extend plays, but can also stand tall as pocket surrounds him and make throws to anywhere on the field

on the field Some of the better ball handling skills on play action fakes in this class, hides the ball well

Pump fakes are always honored by defensive backs because of his ability to put it anywhere on the field

Very live arm that can cut through the elements; can adjust his release point and does not need to have his base under him to generate maximum velocity

Demonstrates average general accuracy overall; placement, completions and conviction in his throws outside the numbers were noticeably better Especially the case outside of the play structure and off of play action

better

Weaknesses

Ingenuity and commitment to do ‘whatever it takes’ can lead to negative plays

Needs to learn when to slide

Pocket movement can be choppy and segmented

At times will leave the pocket too soon in order to help his field vision

Inconsistent mechanics Often throws with too wide of a base At times he over shifts weight during his drop or is caught with too wide of base, which forces him to have to gather himself When off-platform, his arm is often unable to ‘cash the check’ Especially with pressure is in his field of vision

Processor can shut down when he sees pressure, tends to look for safer ground to continue process of the play

As game speed increases or during critical times in games vs. premier opponents, accuracy and placement tends to suffer

Lack of anticipation versus complex coverages or split field coverages, struggles to digest where to attack Especially versus trapping coverages; struggles to make the throw in a tight window. The moment often passes him by and is left to make a play outside the play structure

Placement and control issues Touch between the hashes at all levels is too inconsistent Faced a lot of single high, stacked boxes because of Wyoming’s power run game and didn’t show the ability to consistently throw accurate, timing passes through windows in the short area Can be hit or miss deep, struggles to throw to a spot with touch out ahead of the receiver, allowing him to run up under it without losing stride



Overall

Quarterback Josh Allen is a mesmerizing an polarizing player in this draft. His tape is littered with extreme highs and some of the lowest lows. But in a passing league that tends to fall in love with big armed quarterbacks, he is the shiniest of coins. Allen is as big a quarterback as you would like to see, a fine athlete who is able to make plays with his legs and arm, which includes firing the ball on line to any spot on the field.

But his downfalls are his mental processing skills and placement. He is not an aim small, miss small quarterback. A lot of his passing concepts at Wyoming appeared to be of the half-field variety. After working through his progressions play-side, he struggled to process the other half of the field in time to make a play. Sure, his offense had a lot of NFL structure to it, with common passing concepts, checks and audibles, but most of his success through the air occurred when he extended plays or when he was outside of the pocket. Allen currently lacks the necessary field vision, anticipation, and placement to be effective in the NFL in year one.

His best fit, especially in year one and two, will be with a run heavy team, a team with a well respected running back that will force defenses to continuously stack the box and allow Allen to use his play action skills and live arm to stretch the field vertically. He will especially benefit with receiving options that can separate with their speed or are able to recognize the scramble drill, as Allen will struggle to process coverages early and likely look to make plays outside of the play structure. I believe that Allen still is a year or two away and will benefit tremendously if brought along slowly.

Allen was graded as a 4.667, a second round pick but chances are he is drafted way too early and with that will come true boom or bust potential.

Film

QB Josh Allen – Wyoming

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