Some people just can’t help themselves. Even in spite of all the assurances that Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has given privately and publicly, with those private assurances being relayed not just by players, but also coaches, front office personnel, and the majority owner of the franchise, there are still some who insist on mocking a quarterback to them in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft.
The latest outlet to do so is Pro Football Focus, who in their third mock draft of the offseason has the Steelers finding Roethlisberger’s successor in Wymoning quarterback Josh Allen:
Allen is still a project at this point in his development, but a worthwhile one for the Steelers as they maximize the tail end of Ben Roethlisberger‘s career. Allen has a cannon for an arm and great size and athleticism, though he must improve his accuracy and touch in the short game as well as his decision-making that had him ranked 28th in the draft class at avoiding turnover-worthy plays. Even with his accuracy issues, Allen has potential as a volatile, downfield thrower, and sitting on the bench for a year or two could be the key to unlocking his ceiling.
I am struggling to come up with many examples of quarterbacks who have overcome accuracy issues from the college level to the professional level. While the case could be made that you might have less skilled players to work with, who might drop more passes or otherwise not help out a quarterback, Allen’s stat sheet and on-tape accuracy display leaves much to be desired, at least from my end.
This mock from Steve Palazzolo actually has six quarterbacks going in the first round of the draft, with Allen being the sixth. He has the Cleveland Browns and the New York Giants taking the first two off the board quickly with Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold, respectively. Then the Denver Broncos seize upon Josh Rosen a short time later with the fifth pick in the draft, and the New York Jets find their quarterback in Lamar Jackson with the sixth pick. That’s four quarterbacks going in the top six. The Buffalo Bills take Mason Rudolph at the 21 slot.
About two months ago, a Yahoo mock draft had the Steelers selecting Allen as well. More recently, a CBS mock draft from a few weeks ago sent Rudolph to the Steelers. I would like to mock these mock drafts.
Allen is Pro Football Focus‘ 34th-ranked draft prospect in 2018. His entry reads, in part, that “there’s an offense to be built around Allen’s skillset, but his great velocity is overrated unless he improves his accuracy, touch and willingness to work efficiently in the quick game“.
You can read our scouting report on Allen here:
