NFL Exec Would Draft Josh Allen over Mahomes, More Stars If Starting a New Franchise

The full Josh Allen experience can be a roller-coaster ride, but the Buffalo Bills quarterback showed in Sunday's 30-21 win over the Kansas City Chiefs why he remains a franchise cornerstone.

"I'm picking Josh Allen if we have a draft now to start a franchise," one NFL team executive said to The Athletic's Mike Sando.

Allen threw for 262 yards, one touchdown and one interception, and his 26-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter was one of the best plays of the season.

The play encapsulated why the 28-year-old, for all of his flaws, is a talent around whom you build a Super Bowl contender.

Despite his propensity to tuck the ball and run before welcoming contact from a defender, Allen has largely been durable in his NFL career. He has only missed one game between the 2019-23 seasons. In the process, he's led the Buffalo to five straight postseasons and has earned two Pro Bowl bids.

Turnovers were again an issue for Allen in the 2023 campaign, as he threw for 18 interceptions. But he remained one of the NFL's most dangerous offensive weapons, throwing for 4,306 yards and 29 touchdowns while adding 524 yards and a whopping 15 touchdowns on the ground.

He led the Bills to an 11-6 record, an AFC East title and eventually the AFC Divisional Round, where they once again were thwarted by Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.

This season, the handling of a Week 5 injury—when Allen had his head slammed into the ground and was seen on the sidelines going into the tent and being administered smelling salts before returning to the game—was controversial, though both the NFL and NFLPA ultimately ruled the proper protocols were followed. Allen was never diagnosed with a concussion.

Any injury—or potential injury—to Allen is going to earn an immediate spotlight in both Buffalo and around the NFL. He's a perennial MVP candidate and one of the most dynamic playmakers in football. Without him, the Bills are an entirely different team and their Super Bowl hopes will have to be put on hold.