Josh Allen threw for 2,074 with 10 TDs and 12 interceptions as a rookie.

Allen said he is proud to be a member of the 2018 draft class which had five QBs take in the first round.

As Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott met with his players on the Monday following the season finale, he encouraged them to watch the upcoming NFL playoffs.

“Watch the intensity, watch how fast the guys play because playoff football is different than regular-season football,” McDermott told them as they headed off to an earlier-than-hoped-for off-season.

Quarterback Josh Allen took his coach’s advice without much coaxing because Allen is, as he said via phone Thursday night, “A football enthusiast. I love the game, and you can pick up some things during games like this and learn from them. I’m excited for this weekend to see some good football being played.”

One player Allen will be watching closely is Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes. If there’s one player who provides a blue print for the type of success Allen is seeking, it’s Mahomes, the breakout star of 2018 who is the favorite to be named NFL MVP next week, and who could just as easily have been quarterbacking the Bills this year instead of Allen.

“I did know that,” Allen said when he was asked whether he was aware that the Chiefs chose Mahomes No. 10 overall in the 2017 NFL Draft after acquiring that pick from the Bills. “But there’s a lot of other teams that passed on him, and he wound up in the right situation and sometimes that’s how it is. All I know is that I love Buffalo.”

Mahomes played only one game in his rookie season, then took over the job when the Chiefs traded Alex Smith to the Redskins. He rewarded coach Andy Reid’s faith by throwing for 5,097 yards and 50 touchdowns in helping the Chiefs earn the No. 1 seed in the playoffs which enables them to host Sunday’s AFC Championship Game against New England.

Allen looks at Mahomes’ incredible year and it gives him confidence that in today’s NFL, young quarterbacks can ascend quickly, which is his goal in Buffalo.

“Absolutely I do think it can happen,” said Allen, who played in 11 more games as a rookie than did Mahomes. “Kudos to him for having such a great season. He’s having a season that quarterbacks dream of. He’s a really good dude, an outstanding player and I’m really happy for him. I definitely think that it can be attained by a young quarterback and why not me? That’s what we all strive to do, to win games and have a fun time doing it. That’s something we’ll be chasing here, not the stats or the MVP or whatever, but winning football games and hosting the AFC Championship.”

Allen is in Los Angeles this weekend for the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl and his appearance is tied to Panini America, the exclusive trading card partner of the NFL Players’ Association and the NFL. He took time on Thursday to do phone interviews with several media outlets including the Democrat and Chronicle.

“It’s cool, I’m signing the remaining cards on my rookie deal,” Allen said. “There’s a bunch of rookies who were in this class and they’re out here and I get to talk to them and debrief what happened during the season and pick some brains, so it’s been a good time.”

What’s also fun for Allen is just the mere fact that his likeness is on a football card. Like many young boys, Allen collected cards as a kid, and he remembers one in particular.

“I remember having a Larry Johnson card that was signed and I thought it was the coolest thing,” he said of the running back who enjoyed his best years with Kansas City. “It was a jersey card and he actually wore that jersey and he signed the card, touched the card. I wasn’t even a fan of the Chiefs, but just knowing that a guy in the NFL, a guy I played with on Madden, him signing that card meant a lot to me, so to be in this position now is really nice.”

Allen’s 2018 rookie class will forever be known as the one that saw five quarterbacks drafted in the first round – Baker Mayfield by the Browns, Sam Darnold by the Jets, Allen by the Bills, Josh Rosen by the Cardinals and Lamar Jackson by the Ravens.

That is the second-most QBs taken in a first round, tied with the 1999 class that included Tim Couch of the Browns, Donovan McNabb of the Eagles, Akili Smith of the Bengals, Daunte Culpepper of the Vikings and Cade McNown of the Bears.

Of course, the only one with more was the famed class of 1983 that included three eventual Hall of Famers — Jim Kelly of the Bills, Dan Marino of the Dolphins and John Elway of the Broncos — plus Todd Blackledge of the Chiefs, Tony Eason of the Patriots and Ken O’Brien of the Jets.

“It’s fun to think about it that way,” Allen said of being part of the group. “I have a lot of respect for the guys in this class, the quarterbacks and what we all were able to do this year. The success that the rookie quarterbacks had was really cool to see and to be a part of that class and be talked about in that category, it’s definitely humbling and a cool thing. At the same time, we have a long way to go before anybody mentions our names in the Hall of Fame or anything like that.”

While he recognizes that every time these quarterbacks meet, 2018 class bragging rights will be on the line, but the reality is that every week, “There’s a competition with everybody we play, every quarterback, so we’re looking to win football games no matter who the other quarterback is,” he said.

Allen said he’ll spend the rest of his offseason in southern California before he heads back to Buffalo some time in March, even though formal team workouts don’t get started at One Bills Drive until mid-April.

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Rest is definitely on the agenda because as he pointed out, he’s been going full speed since the summer of 2017, preparing for his senior year at Wyoming, playing that season, then jumping right into the pre-draft workout process last winter, offseason workouts with the Bills, training camp, and his rookie NFL season.

“Right now it’s a good time to decompress and relax a little bit and hang out with family and friends and get your mind off football, but not get too far away from it,” he said. “I’ll be training with Jordan Palmer and get some throwing in with him, try to stay in shape. At the same time, maybe get a tan because in Buffalo I got pretty pale.”

MAIORANA@Gannett.com