ESPN GURU: JOSH ALLEN WILL BE TOP DRAFT PICK
When the 2017 NFL draft ended, ESPN’s Adam Schefter, relaying information he had gathered from an anonymous team’s personnel director, predicted that Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen would be the first player selected in the 2018 draft.
Nine months later, Schefter’s colleague, draft guru Mel Kiper Jr., is following suit. In his first mock version of this year’s draft, which begins April 26 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, Kiper predicted Thursday that the Cleveland Browns will grab Allen with the top overall pick.
The 2018 draft is stacked with quarterback talent, from Allen and Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield to UCLA’s Josh Rosen and USC’s Sam Darnold, whom Kiper predicted the Broncos, in need of a long-term answer at the position, will select at No. 5 as the third quarterback off the board (Rosen, No. 2 to the New York Giants).
So why does Kiper consider Allen to be at the top of the class?
“My evaluations on this quarterback class are really close,” Kiper wrote. “I’ve gone back and forth a few times on Josh Rosen, Sam Darnold and Allen, but I just moved Allen up to my No. 1 quarterback. His numbers aren’t impressive, I know. But
the NFL is all about projection, and he has a high ceiling. Coaches want to work with the 6-foot-5 Allen because he has all of the tools.”
Allen, who has signed with mega agency CAA and is working out for the draft near Los Angeles, will be among the quarterbacks attending the Senior Bowl next week in Mobile, Ala. Like Mayfield, Allen will be coached by the Broncos’ staff, including head coach Vance Joseph, at the event.
“All eyes are going to be on Josh Allen and Baker Mayfield,” Kiper said. “Baker will be watched very closely to see how handles himself all over the place because you want him to be the CEO of your football team. For Josh Allen, just stick out as a big-time quarterback. It’s a great opportunity for him to show, just doing the eye test, that he’s the No. 1 player overall.”
The Browns, much like the Broncos, are in desperate need of a franchise quarterback. They just finished an 0-16 season, and though they selected Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer in the second round of the 2017 draft, it’s unlikely they wouldn’t spend one of their two top-five picks on another quarterback.
In a conference call with reporters Thursday, Kiper made his case as to why that quarterback should Allen.
“He’s got the physical capability to do the job in the (adverse) weather conditions like Ben Roethlisberger and Carson Wentz, quarterbacks he’ll be compared to with that size and physicality and arm strength and mobility and toughness and competitiveness,” Kiper said. “That’s why Allen, with the big-time arm and the big body, was the reason I gave him that slight edge over Rosen and Darnold.”
Allen announced Dec. 22 that he would give up his final season of college eligibility to enter the draft. He thought about leaving Wyoming for the NFL after the 2016 season before deciding to return to Laramie for another year. Allen ended his career by throwing three touchdown passes while leading the Cowboys to a 37-14 victory over Central Michigan in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in Boise. Broncos general manager John Elway was there to see that performance.
Predicting the draft order before the Senior Bowl, February’s scouting combine or pro-day workouts is an exercise in entertainment more than science. Opinions will fluctuate greatly over the next couple months as prospects are placed under the microscope. But if Kiper’s proclamation Thursday is any indication, the big-armed quarterback from Wyoming will bring plenty of intrigue to the draft process.
Kiper staunchly defended his choice of Allen at the top of the draft class when asked about the quarterback’s completion percentage (.563) in his 11 games last season.
“You’ve got to look beyond the stats; stats are for losers, in my opinion, in a lot of ways,” Kiper said. “The kid won. When he was out there, they won football games. The stats, like I say, a lot of guys have stats and can’t get their teams over .500.”