JOSH ALLEN SHOWS OFF HIS FOOTWORK DURING PRO DAY
Josh Allen shows again why he may win the arms race to No. 1 in the draft
LARAMIE» Josh Allen, the kid from sunny California, wanted snow.
The plan for the 6-foot-5, 232pound future NFL quarterback was to incorporate inclement weather into his pro-day workout Friday morning. It would have been one more way for Allen to show the cold-weather teams selecting toward the top of the April 26-28 draft that there isn’t anything he can’t handle.
“I was hoping it was snowing. If it had started snowing, we would have stepped outside for, probably, 20 throws,” Allen said. “Laramie, I guess, was on a different path this time.”
So Allen settled for 60 chestthumping throws at the University of Wyoming’s indoor practice facility that gave the Cleveland Browns, the team with the top overall pick and represented by general manager John Dorsey and coach Hue Jackson, a lot to think about as they prepare to make the first pick in the draft next month.
Allen’s accuracy, long considered a check in the quarterback’s “weaknesses” column, according
to some scouts, was scarcely a concern as he sprinted outside the pocket, changed direction under pressure and bombed the ball 80 yards — yes, 80 — down the field. Only three of his 60 throws — delivered to a combination of former Wyoming players and receivers Allen has worked with while training in San Clemente, Calif. — could be considered off the mark.
“We wanted to show every type of play-action footwork, every type of play-action throw,” said Jordan Palmer, a former NFL quarterback who has been training Allen and former USC QB Sam Darnold before the draft. “We wanted to move him, show him on the run and show that he can control it. All those throws that look like ‘Oh, those are boring, who cares,’ those are the throws (NFL scouts and executives) want to see. They know he can throw the ball down the field.”
Allen’s rocket of a right arm has always been there. Even when he was a scrawny quarterback at Firebaugh (Calif.) High School, he had an ability to zip the ball down the field. Friday, he delivered a few throws with such force that when they landed with a thwap! against the chest of one of his receivers, spectators on the sideline winced.
“We did a little dry run earlier in the week, and he and I went full speed to get the timing down,” said former Wyoming fullback Drew Van Maanen, a native of Parker. “I was like, ‘Man, you’re about to take me and put me down to the ground when you throw these at me.’ He threw one today where (Palmer) went, ‘That probably hurt a little bit.’ It goes to show the power and speed he has behind that throw.”
Allen’s arm stole the show, but the feet wrapped in a pair of shiny orange cleats have been Palmer’s focus. When the quarterback guru began breaking down Allen’s tape, he noticed the accuracy problems began on Allen’s toes. When he stretched his body skyward, Palmer said, Allen would have a tendency to stride too far with his lead (left) leg.
“Then you end up leaning, and it changes your arm angle and makes it different every time,” Palmer said. “We tried to make it more consistent. We didn’t try to make it better, just more consistent.”
His focus has been on helping Allen shorten the front side of his delivery so that the back half of Allen’s body can finish through the throw. Allen said he has already felt the results. His quick footwork was on display Friday as Palmer barked out signals, forcing Allen to change direction in a split-second.
“It all starts from the feet,” Allen said. “As accurate as I want to be, it starts there.”
There was large contingent of NFL personnel on hand to view Allen’s impressive performance. In addition to the Browns’ management, Giants coach Pat Shurmer, Broncos senior personnel adviser Gary Kubiak and Seahawks general manager John Schneider, among others, were also present. In all, 17 NFL teams were represented, including nearly a half-dozen Broncos scouts.
How would Allen feel about being selected by Denver, now that general manager John Elway has landed a starting quarterback, Case Keenum, in free agency?
“It would be an opportunity to sit and learn,” Allen said. “I’d go there and compete right away and learn the daily in-and-out of an NFL quarterback without all the pressure of going in and expecting to start right away. That type of situation would be wanted by most quarterbacks coming into the league. I’m a competitive guy and I want to play as fast as possible, but sitting behind someone for a year and learning as much as I can about the offense and what’s going on in the NFL would definitely be a blessing.”
Allen will know his draft fate soon enough — in 33 days, to be exact, he pointed out Friday — and the immediate buzz after his pro-day workout was that Allen did himself a major favor with his performance.
As his son talked to on-air talent from ESPN and the NFL Network — both were airing portions of the pro-day workout live — Joel Allen stood off to the side and marveled. He recalled a day more than 16 years ago, long before Josh was overlooked by almost every college in America, that someone actually envisioned a pro football future for him.
Allen family members were at a 49ers game at old Candlestick Park. As they tailgated in the parking lot, Joel told 4-year-old Josh to go long. The father unleashed a pass that he was sure had flown too far, but Josh sprinted underneath it and hauled it in.
A tailgating 49ers fan who watched the moment unfold yelled to Joel: “He’s going to be in the NFL one day!”
“And now,” Joel Allen said Friday, “he’s almost there.”