Individual rank: Bhanpuri: 4 | Blair: 4 | Filice: 2 | Parr: 3
2020 statistics: 16 matches | 69.2 percent | 4,544 pass yds | 7.9 ypa | 37 pass TD | 10 INT | 421 rush yds | 8 rush TD | 6 root loose T
Next match: against Baltimore Ravens | Saturday 16 January at 20:15 ET (NBC, Universo)
Blair: There’s probably only one quarterback on this list (or currently in our universe) that I want for ANY situation, and Allen is not the person at that point. But it’s OK. Because I do not drop him into an existing system or surround him with a talent list. I’m building RONDom him – which means I can only copy what the Bills did.
Unlike the struggling QBs from Allen’s class (or the vast majority of discarded young QBs, for that matter), Allen played for the same head coach (Sean McDermott) and attacking coordinator (Brian Daboll), with the same general manager (Brandon Beane) managed three years of his career at head office. Allen’s had time to grow and learn, while the McDermott-Daboll-Beane triad had time to implement a plan to increase Allen’s strengths and reduce his weaknesses. It raises my confidence that Allen’s outbreak in 2020 is not a surprise, but a real boom, the best case for developing a strong set up quarter in an era where it’s virtually impossible to get someone on the bench let learn. Think about how Allen’s steady improvement from year to year has followed with the increasing quality of his best receiving target each season (according to next generation statistics):
2018: Zay Jones, 67 targets; 74.5 passer rating as he targets Jones
2019: John Brown, 110 targets; 103.7 passer rating if he targets Brown
2020: Stefon Diggs, 166 targets; 115.4 rating if you target Diggs
The Bills clearly give him what he needs to thrive, both in talent and coaching. There’s still a bit of chaotic energy in Allen’s game that will always make him a little susceptible, but sign me up for another three seasons of an emerging dynamo that could burn you with his legs and his arm.