The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Allen follows Darnold with gaudy pro day
Quarterback Sam Darnold left no doubt after the USC pro day March 21 that the Browns should make him the first pick of the draft April 26.
But wait a minute!
Josh Allen put on a spectacle of his own March 23 at the University of Wyoming indoor facility.
Among the NFL personnel lining the field were Browns owner Jimmy Haslam, General Manager John Dorsey, Coach Hue Jackson, offensive coordinator Todd Haley, quarterback coach Ken Zampese and Assistant General Manager Eliot Wolf.
Allen, throwing in ideal conditions — Darnold threw in the rain — was just as impressive as his friend and rival from USC was two days earlier. He hit his deep throws, showed he could roll right or left while throwing on the run, should zip on sideline throws and touch on shorter passes.
The pressure is squarely on Dorsey. This is the first time since selecting Tim Couch in 1999 the Browns are expected to use the first pick on a quarterback. He has to get it right.
Back in 1998, many general managers thought Ryan Leaf would have a better pro career than Peyton Manning. The Colts picked Manning first overall. He’ll be a first-ballot hall of famer. Leaf went second to the Chargers and was a complete flop.
Not to say Darnold or Allen will be Manning or Leaf, but Dorsey has to get it right.
The conclusion to draw from the two separate workouts is pro days are part of the equation, but NFL people learn more about a player watching game tape, interviewing him and putting him through a private workout as the Browns plan to do for Darnold, Allen, Baker Mayfield from Oklahoma and Josh Rosen from UCLA.
Jordan Palmer, a former NFL quarterback with an undistinguished pro career, is tutoring Darnold and Allen. He was interviewed by NFL Network’s Mike Mayock after Allen’s workout and set the ground rules: He wouldn’t say which quarterback is better.
“I made sure I talked to several teams about the things they wanted to see (from Allen),” Palmer said. “It’s no secret he can throw the ball through the car wash without it getting wet, but we really wanted to tempo the ball … control it.
“You throw the ball as hard as you can in a game maybe four, five, six times. The majority of these throws are layered or thrown with touch. I know he can do that. I wanted him to be able to show that today and put him in position to tempo the ball. I thought he did a great job.”
Palmer said Allen has grown as a person to be ready for what awaits him and contrasted Allen’s situation to that of Darnold playing in the spotlight at USC and last year’s 12th overall pick Deshaun Watson (by Houston) playing in two national championships at Clemson.
The biggest red flag over Darnold is his 22 turnovers last fall, nine of them lost fumbles.
The biggest red flag hanging over Allen is a 56.2 completion percentage in college.
The Browns just went through an agonizing season of both problems with DeShone Kizer at quarterback — 22 interceptions and a 53.6 percent completion percentage.
Dorsey has to determine whether Allen’s low completion percentage is because of the players that surrounded him or because of sloppy footwork.
Palmer has been working with Allen to improve the 6-foot-5 quarterback’s footwork. The improvement showed in Allen’s March 23 scripted workout with no pass rush and no defensive backs in coverage. But as NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah, a former Browns scout, pointed out, sometimes bad habits surface when the heat of a pass rush is on a quarterback.
Palmer says that won’t happen to Allen.
“I know from being around (Allen) he has the ability to throw with anticipation,” Palmer said. “Now it’s going to be the game reps where that becomes his strong suit.
“He’s always had a big arm, but he’s sitting here going, ‘How do I get better at this? How do I develop that?’
Darnold might be more ready than Allen to start in 2018, but that shouldn’t matter if Dorsey believes Allen has a higher ceiling.
Schudel can be reached at JSchudel@News-Herald. com; @jsproinsider on Twitter.