Bills GM compares Josh Allen’s leadership style to former All-Pro LB

Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane feels as though quarterback Josh Allen is a similar leader to former Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly.

Kyle Silagyi | Aug 3, 2024

Quarterback Josh Allen tosses the ball while waiting for the rest of the team to take the field. / Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK

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There’s been much recent discourse amongst the Buffalo faithful regarding Josh Allen’s leadership ability; reporter Tim Graham recently penned an article for The Athletic in which he shared that Bills ownership was looking for “more of an executive demeanor out of Allen,” a sentiment that’s not necessarily an indictment on the quarterback’s leadership ability, but an indication that it needs to evolve.

Such an expectation is only natural. Allen, after all, is the face of the franchise, an otherworldly signal-caller who the team has centered its on-field philosophies and off-field marketing around. Wanting a player earning north of $40 million per season to be the undisputed leader of the team is not a necessarily egregious ask.

Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane is not only confident that Allen can take on a bigger leadership role—he thinks it’s something that he’s naturally evolving into. As Allen gains additional league experience and generally matures, he’s naturally becoming more of a trusted locker room voice as the roster around him sees turnover and grows younger; the passer is, thus, becoming more confident as a leader as he progresses through his career. During a recent appearance on the Buffalo Plus podcast, Beane compared Allen’s evolution into a prominent leadership role to that of former NFL Defensive Player of the Year Luke Kuechly, a linebacker whom Beane watched grow into one of the league’s best players throughout his time with the Carolina Panthers.

“We had Luke Kuechly on the other side of the ball in Carolina,” Beane said. “There’s a lot of things about their leadership styles that remind me of each other. Early on in Carolina, we had, on the defensive side, we had a Thomas Davis, we had a Charles Johnson, some guys who were established players. Luke came in and by year two, the guys were like, ‘Hey, it’s your defense. Lead.’ He was just such a good [guy], he didn’t want to step on toes. Even though you’d tell him, ‘Luke, speak up at halftime. If you need to rip somebody’s a**, you rip it.’ He just didn’t want to do it.

“But over time, as the team became younger and the defense became younger, it became easier. I think that’s just where you’ve seen Josh year after year, it’s just all of the sudden, every year, he’s getting a year older and some of the older guys are departing and you’re infusing youth or new veterans on the team, this is how we do it. I think naturally, you’ll see another year where he may be a little more vocal with his teammates. Not only on the offensive side, but even with some of the defensive leaders we’ve lost even over there.”

Bills quarterback Josh Allen takes a break between drills during day seven of the Buffalo Bills training camp at St. John Fisher University in Pittsford, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. / Shawn Dowd/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK

Allen’s leadership ability has never been too legitimate a concern, as his teammates seem to adore him. That said, his natural growth into a more significant leadership role is encouraging to see; stalwart offensive tackle Dion Dawkins has already seen signs of Allen’s evolution, noting that he was becoming a more “verbal” leader while also describing him as a “barker.”

Allen will need to be the unequivocal leader of Buffalo’s offense in order for the unit to continue humming in the 2024 campaign. The team parted ways with previous leading wideouts Stefon Diggs and Gabriel Davis in the offseason, the two leaving 241 vacated targets and roughly 2,000 yards worth of production; the team’s revamped receiving corps entering the fall—headlined by Khalil Shakir, Curtis Samuel, and Keon Coleman—is talented, but unproven. Allen and the general offense have looked sharp through the first handful of training camp practices, suggesting that the quarterback’s ascent into a more prominent leadership role is off to a strong start.

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