Allen workout draws a crowd
The NFL’s quarterback evaluation party moved Friday to Laramie, Wyo., where Josh Allen held his Pro Day.
Allen wowed everyone with a few long throws at the end of the 45-minute session, some reaching 80 yards in the air. But the bigger question NFL teams have about Allen is about his accuracy, not his arm strength. He also did his best to address that question in Friday’s session, with some touch throws.
“My feet were really jacked up,” Allen said on the NFL Network about his accuracy issues at Wyoming. “So any time I would miss, my feet were out of whack. They weren’t sequencing correctly. Getting with [personal coach] Jordan Palmer, he was noticing the things I was doing in my stance, my footwork. He was helping me guide that and fix that. Now, I can self-correct. I’ve been working on it a lot.”
All 32 teams were represented at the Pro Day, according to reports. The Giants and Jets sent large contingents, just as they did for USC quarterback Sam Darnold on Wednesday. Giants coach Pat Shurmur, offensive coordinator Mike Shula and VP of Player Evaluation Chris Mara were on hand. Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan, coach Todd Bowles, VP of player personnel Brian Heimerdinger and offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates all watched Allen’s session of about 60 throws.
The Browns had the largest group watching, including owner Jimmy Haslam. He also attended Darnold’s Pro Day on Wednesday. The sense at Darnold’s Pro Day was the Browns would take him No. 1, but they either are still undecided or want people to believe that.
Allen completed just 56.3 percent of his passes last year for 1,812 yards and 16 touchdowns with six interceptions.
Palmer, who also tutors Darnold, wanted to show teams Allen can be a consistent thrower.
“He’s got this rocket arm that everyone knows about and we’ve all seen. I want to show ... it’s not a wild fastball, it’s a consistent fastball,” Palmer told USA Today.
“But more importantly, I want to show that a lot of times guys that have big arms — they have a hard time controlling it, and taking tempo off of the ball, and layering it and really controlling it. We put him in some situations today where he can really show that control and that touch.”
Allen, who transferred to Wyoming from Reedley College, in the Fresno, Calif., area, told NFL Network he was just trying to enjoy the moment.
“I was in junior college a few years ago, so to be here sitting in this spot talking to these NFL executives, it’s a dream come true. It’s something that not a lot of people saw coming,” Allen said. “It is surreal. This is the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do my entire life. Sitting here, it’s something that I’ve always dreamt of.”
The Jets contingent is traveling from Wyoming to Oklahoma for a private workout with Baker Mayfield on Saturday, according to a source.