Bills Central

Why Bills QB Josh Allen is this Hall of Fame DE's favorite player

Pro Football Hall of Famer Charles Haley recently told Kay Adams that Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen is his favorite current player. Here's why.

Kyle Silagyi

Dec 31, 2023; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) runs out of the pocket against the New England Patriots in the first quarter at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 31, 2023; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) runs out of the pocket against the New England Patriots in the first quarter at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports / Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports
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For a neutral fan, it’s difficult not to have an affinity for Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen.

He’s simply an electric player to watch, a 6-foot-5 human wrecking ball who is as likely to run over or through a defender as he is to hurl the ball over their heads and perfectly into the arms of his target. He’s an affable personality who is simply dynamite on the football field, this evidenced by his NFL-record four consecutive seasons of totaling over 40 touchdowns.

He’s one of the faces of the NFL, a player universally beloved by the Buffalo faithful who has earned his fair share of supporters from other fanbases. Among his neutral admirers is Pro Football Hall of Fame pass rusher Charles Haley, a former San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys defensive end who earned two of his five career Super Bowl rings against the Bills. During a recent appearance on FanDuel’s Up & Adams, Haley didn’t hold back in his praise of Allen, comically expressing the reasons why he’s his favorite current player.

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“That white guy in Buffalo that’s a quarterback, he is my dawg,” Haley said. “That white guy. Jesus Christ, oh my god. Jesus Christ. You watch that brother? Oh, I forgot he’s white. You watch that brother, though, he goes down there, you see what Josh does? He runs over them and gets up [and flexes] on them. But I would’ve tapped him on his shoulder if I was playing and said ‘Hey, you’re not ever going to do that [with me].”

This is significant praise coming from one of the more vaunted pass rushers in NFL history; a five-time Pro Bowler, Haley tallied 100.5 sacks throughout his decorated career. Having played with signal-callers like Joe Montana and Troy Aikman and against countless other historic passers, Haley knows a good quarterback when he sees one—and Allen checks every box.

Allen is perhaps on pace to join Haley in Canton should he continue to construct the gaudy stat lines he’s consistently posted since his emergence in the 2020 NFL season. He’ll need to string together several additional seasons of otherworldly production (and some significant individual and team accolades wouldn’t hurt, either) in order to have an undeniable argument; his road to a gold jacket will re-commence next week when the Bills kick off their 2024 training camp at Rochester’s St. John Fisher University. 

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Kyle Silagyi
KYLE SILAGYI

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