Bills GM has strong words for NFL executive who called QB Josh Allen overrated

Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane vehemently defended quarterback Josh Allen after an anonymous NFL executive called him "overrated."

Kyle Silagyi | Jul 24, 2024

Jul 24, 2024; Rochester, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) drops back to throw a pass during training camp at St. John Fisher University. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports / Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

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Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane is not one to sit idly by as his colleagues attack his quarterback.

ESPN recently surveyed NFL executives, coaches, and scouts on the 10 best players at each position entering the 2024 campaign, turning their lists into a series of positional rankings ahead of the new season. Buffalo signal-caller Josh Allen slotted in at No. 3 on the quarterback-specific list, with one anonymous executive offering a controversial analysis of the dynamic passer.

"One of the more overrated players in the NFL," the executive told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. "Immense talent but he makes a lot of mistakes. He's underdeveloped at winning at the line of scrimmage, tends to lock on to targets, more of a thrower than precision passer, forces throws into traffic."

The executive’s critiques were, at best, outdated, and at worst, unfounded, with several national pundits—including those employed by ESPN—defending Allen following the comments. Beane is the latest person to go to bat for the veteran passer, vehemently defending Allen after the team’s Wednesday training camp practice.

“I don’t know where to start,” Beane told reporters. “It’s frustrating, you try to ignore this stuff, but Josh is going into year seven and there are still the naysayers. I don’t get it. If I was going to use ‘rated,’ I would say underrated before I would say overrated. And I know I’m biased, he’s our guy, love him every single day.

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“These things that come out there, I know people love the rankings of whoever, but when you don’t put your name to it and you make comments like that, like who is this executive? ‘Executive’ is a loose term. I was probably referred to as an ‘executive’ well before I should’ve been. I just say if you’re not going to put your name on it, we really shouldn’t validate it. I know it gets validated because it’s on ESPN, I’m not a fan of that style. I wish the writer wouldn’t include a comment like that, I don’t think Josh deserves that. Again, I’m biased, but I’m tired of hearing it.”

The unnamed executive's comments were perhaps a bit unforeseen given Allen’s proficiency over the past several seasons; he’s led the Bills to the postseason in each of the past five campaigns, earning NFL MVP votes in three of the last four. He’s the only player in NFL history to total over 40 touchdowns in four consecutive seasons, leading the league in scores last year with 44—he’s simply electric by any metric you wish to reference.

Beane believes that the still-present criticism relates to Allen’s controversial status as a draft prospect, with people both in and out of the league still attempting to validate their pre-draft opinions. Allen was perhaps the most debated prospect ahead of the 2018 NFL Draft, a 6-foot-5 ball of clay with immense athleticism and a cannon for a right arm who admittedly had some glaring red flags. Critics were hung up on his general lack of refinement (which manifested in the form of poor accuracy) and a lack of elite production at Wyoming; Allen has obviously overcome these deficiencies and developed into one of the NFL’s best contemporary signal-callers, but some people, per Beane, still have difficulty dealing with the fact that they were wrong.

Jul 24, 2024; Rochester, NY, USA; Fans react as Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) greets them during training camp at St. John Fisher University. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports / Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

“There’s idiots everywhere,” Beane said. “I don’t know. Until you put your name on it, I don’t know. I think [Allen] has done plenty, I think part of it is there are people that, we all are well aware, when Josh came out [of college], there were people that thought he was a bust or would not make it for all the reasons that they’ve listed over the years. I just think anytime someone thinks they’ve got a crack, they’re going to say, ‘See, I told you so.’

“They’re looking for things. You can look at any player in any sport and point out negatives, no one is God or a robot. But Josh’s positives don’t even come close to the negatives. For what he’s done for this team, for what he’s done in this league and his own accomplishments, to say he’s overrated and to point out a flaw here or there is ignorant.”

What perhaps impresses Beane most about his signal-caller is not his on-field prowess (though it’s difficult not to be astonished by that, at times)—he’s more so taken aback by the way Allen has embraced the role of franchise centerpiece and communal icon, with the rampant and constant naysayers never impacting his psyche, but instead motivating him to prove his doubters wrong.

Allen doesn’t let the outside noise eat at him, instead using it as fuel for his ultimate goal: to bring a Lombardi Trophy to Western New York.

“The good thing about Josh is he’s always felt the naysayers,” Beane said. “I don’t think there’s a year in the league that I know of where someone doesn’t want to point out something with him. Even going back to his early games as a rookie or second-year guy, he would make plays in a game, but if he made a dumb throw or something like that, he could’ve helped us win the game but that’s the highlight or lowlight that they want to show because that validates their thoughts and views on him.

“We’ve ignored it for so long, and I think the local media have all seen Josh and realize, not only is he a hell of a player, how great he is in his role. It’s so hard to be a quarterback and have his status. He stays after and signs every freaking autograph. He’s perfect in the role, we’re lucky as hell to have him. I get frustrated with it, but Josh has a natural chip. I don’t think whether this person said this would change that, I think he’s coming into this year with a chip. He wants a title. Every year that we don’t win it, it’s digging a deeper chip. I think that’s what motivates him.”

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