Bills QB Josh Allen trails head-scratching pick on post-NFL Draft QB Rankings

Buffalo Bills signal-caller Josh Allen, expectedly, appears near the top of a recent NFL quarterback ranking, but he appears behind a head-scratching choice.

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) runs off the field after a 27-24 loss to the Chiefs in the / Jamie Germano/Rochester Democrat and

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen’s road from controversial and widely doubted draft prospect to objective NFL superstar has been well-documented, a winding, but never uninteresting path on which the signal-caller has evolved from a trait-sy, but raw passer with a cannon for an arm and accuracy issues into a game-wrecking player the likes of which we haven’t really seen in the NFL before.

Allen’s otherworldly arm talent, elite athleticism, and disregard for personal safety make him a wholly unique quarterback, a one-of-one player who, while not necessarily the best signal caller in the NFL, is certainly one of its most talented players.

Allen’s rise to national prominence has seen him adorned with several awards and accolades, his now four consecutive seasons with 40+ total touchdowns earning him two Pro Bowl nods and NFL MVP votes in several seasons. He’s almost universally looked at as one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, routinely appearing near the top of national signal-caller rankings.

He expectedly sits near the peak of a recent quarterback ranking from CBS Sports writer Cody Benjamin, who places the 27-year-old at No. 3 on his list behind three-time Super Bowl-winning Kansas City Chiefs passer Patrick Mahomes… and San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy.

You didn’t misread that.

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Benjamin was generally complimentary of Allen in his analysis, writing “Allen was already a one-man roller-coaster ride, and things could get rockier in Buffalo with basically the whole receiving corps replaced. But he's a perennial MVP type due to the Superman skill set. If anyone can will a team to contend with a rocket arm and bruising legs, it's him.”

There’s no issue with Mahomes appearing ahead of Allen—the Kansas City quarterback is objectively better. His arm talent is equal to or greater than that of Allen, as is his ‘make something out of nothing’ ability. Mahomes’s statistical and awards resumes are also much stronger; anyone who makes an argument that the three-time Super Bowl champion and two-time NFL MVP is not the best quarterback in the league is simply being willfully ignorant.

Purdy, however, is a bit more of a head-scratching selection. His resume, sure, is solid; he’s exceeded all expectations typically associated with ‘Mr. Irrelevant’ over the past two seasons, completing 68.7% of his passes for 5,654 yards, 44 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions while taking the 49ers to Super Bowl LVIII.

Benjamin writes the following of the former Iowa State Hawkeye:

“Let's give the kid the respect he deserves,” the analyst wrote. “Two seasons, two NFC title games, one valiant Super Bowl effort. Does he have a sterling setup in San Francisco? Yep. Does he operate like a 10-year vet, managing the pocket as both an efficient and mobile gunslinger? Also yep.”

The analysis is fair; Purdy certainly does manage San Francisco’s offense well, and he has led the team to back-to-back NFC Championship appearances. However, the “sterling setup” that Benjamin mentions cannot be overstated; Purdy is surrounded in the 49ers’ offense by Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, and Brandon Aiyuk, a playmaker trio any quarterback in the league would move mountains to have.

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And this isn’t even to mention San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan, whose offensive scheme has turned Matt Ryan into an MVP and Jimmy Garoppolo into a competent starter. Shanahan’s offense is notoriously quarterback-friendly, essentially asking its passers to quickly identify the correct read and make the necessary play.

This isn’t necessarily an easy task, and Purdy, to his credit, executes it well; but is he a better quarterback than Josh Allen? Is he a better passer than the player who can, and does, heave 70-yard bombs at will? Does Purdy give the median football team a better chance to win than Allen?

The answer is, likely, no, and that’s probably not a controversial opinion. Regardless, there’s no shame in being ranked as a top-three signal-caller in the league. Allen will look to move (marginally) further up national rankings with another strong statistical outing in the 2024 NFL season.