The Buffalo Bills’ starting quarterback was up for discussion Monday as general manager Brandon Beane joined the ‘Pat McAfee Show.’ Beane was on hand to discuss the latest free agency period, which was given an exclamation point for the Bills with Allen’s $330 million extension.
One may wonder: how much influence does a franchise QB like Allen have in roster decisions? Beane confirmed Monday that No. 17, like many other all-time greats, gets to chime in on the moves Beane ultimately pulls the trigger on in free agency and in the draft.
”Josh has earned that. … Sometimes he knows a guy. He goes out to California and throws with various players,” said Beane on the former All-Pro punter’s show.
“If it’s something like that, where he’s got a connection or he knows someone there, he’s met the player somewhere along the way, [I] definitely ask him what he thinks about him. Has he thrown with him.”
One has to wonder if that California connection is what landed Joshua Palmer. Buffalo’s newest receiver makes his way to Western New York after playing his first four seasons in Los Angeles with the Chargers.
Beane also noted how Allen got involved in the draft process last spring, which resulted in the Bills selecting Keon Coleman in the second round.
”He did come in early and did want to flip through, with our offensive coaches, just some of the receivers,” Beane said. “And just how he would see them in the offense compared to the coaches. And so we did discuss, and ultimately, he’s not gonna try and overstate it. … It’s fun to have his involvement.”
Beane said Allen “loves” the draft process so much, he jokingly said the reigning league MVP does “about 150” mock drafts every day.
”He’ll text them to me. Not just offensive players,” said Beane of Allen’s mock draft picks. “He literally moved one of our pro scouts off of his computer last year and is like, ‘hey, watch this mock. Watch what I got for our team.’”
Even someone as entrenched in an NFL roster as Allen is can’t beat mock draft fever. But for Beane, keeping his QB1 happy and involved in roster building has shown to be a smart move by the GM.
