Elway, Josh Allen and the Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins wouldn't have had to deal with Josh Allen twice a year if not for the Denver Broncos' decision to pass him up in the 2018 NFL draft

Miami Dolphins linebacker Bradley Chubb celebrates recovering a fumble against the Tennessee Titans during the second half of an NFL game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Dec. 11, 2023. / JIM RASSOL/THE PALM BEACH POST / USA

Hall of Famer John Elway made headlines when he said his biggest regret as Denver Broncos GM was not taking Josh Allen with the fifth overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft, and it was a decision that ended up impacting the Miami Dolphins in more ways than one.

The biggest impact, of course, is that the Dolphins now have to face Allen twice every season with the Buffalo Bills, a task that's proven difficult to handle for Miami. Allen has been a problem for the Dolphins, putting together a 10-2 record against Miami while helping the Bills win the AFC East title each of the past four seasons.

But the Dolphins also maybe wouldn't have been able to trade for star pass rusher Bradley Chubb in November 2022 because that trade was made with the Broncos after he had been the one Denver selected instead of Allen with that fifth overall pick.

John Elway believed his biggest mistake as The Broncos’ GM was not drafting Josh Allen @PardonMyTake #BroncosCountry pic.twitter.com/7eCwalnU93

— Barstool Denver (@BarstoolDenver) July 29, 2024

HOW THE BILLS LANDED JOSH ALLEN

We'll start with the biggest impact of Elway's decision to bypass Allen, which allowed the Bills to trade up from 12th to seventh to take the University of Wyoming quarterback.

Allen was the third of five quarterbacks taken in the first round that year, after Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold and before Josh Rosen and Lamar Jackson.

Who knows what the Bills would have done had Denver taken Allen at number 5, but it's safe to say they wouldn't be in the same kind of position they're in at quarterback considering they have arguably the best QB in the NFL not named Patrick Mahomes.

According to longtime NFL reporter Michael Silver, the Bills had their sights set on either Allen or Mayfield, but the latter was the first overall pick.

And as it turns out, the Bills were ready to make a trade with the Broncos for that fifth pick unless Elway had a non-quarterback he liked available at that spot. Elway really liked Chubb, so the deal was off and Buffalo instead traded with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Chubb was a very good player for the Broncos, but he also wasn't as impactful as Allen has been for Buffalo.

In the middle of his fifth NFL season, while Chubb was playing on his fifth-year option, the Broncos sent him to Miami for a package that included a first-round pick and running back Chase Edmonds.

That trade obviously couldn't have been made had Denver taken Allen, and who knows whether the Dolphins could have been able to land another pass rusher.

Chubb currently is rehabbing his torn ACL injury and remains on PUP as the Dolphins continue training camp and he'll be looking to pick up where he left off last season when he put together a Pro Bowl-caliber performance.

No matter how well he comes back, though, it's going to be awfully hard for Chubb to make the kind of difference it would have made had Elway indeed taken Josh Allen with that fifth pick in 2018 and kept him out of the AFC East.