Often, when given the safety of anonymity, some people may take the chance to speak their minds and offer an out-of-left-field opinion on a certain matter. Such was the case for an anonymous front office executive who took the chance to call Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen overrated.
Bills general manager Brandon Beane took exception to the comments and defended his QB the first chance he could, and rightfully so, as we use statistics and analysis to back him up.
Brandon Beane Comes to Josh Allen’s Defense
Beane was provided the chance on Wednesday to publicly defend his quarterback for the first time since an anonymous executive told ESPN that Allen was “one of the more overrated players in the NFL.”
The GM was unwavering in his support of his signal-caller.
"There's idiots everywhere."
Full comments from #Bills GM Brandon Beane on an anonymous NFL Executive that called QB Josh Allen "overrated." #BillsMafia #BillsCamp pic.twitter.com/QR8Iv9hjMG
— Dom Tibbetts (@DomTibbettsTV) July 24, 2024
“It’s frustrating. You try to ignore this stuff. Josh is going into Year 7, and there’s still the naysayers; I don’t get it,” Beane started.
“If I was going to use rated, I would use under before I used overrated…
“These things that come out there, I know people love the rankings of whoever, but if you don’t put your name to it and you make comments like that, like who is this executive?
“I just say if you don’t put your name on it, we really shouldn’t validate it.
“There’s idiots everywhere,” Beane stated sternly.
While it’s far from surprising that Beane would publicly back his franchise quarterback, he is correct to push back on any claims that Allen is overrated.
Why Allen Is Far From Overrated
When looking at Allen and his body of work, it almost feels like a litmus test between people who understand the game and those who just look at the box score afterward. While Allen had 18 interceptions last season and has shown to be prone to turnovers, the pros vastly outweigh the cons for the talented QB.
Allen finished last year with 29 passing touchdowns and 15 rushing scores, accounting for a whopping total of 44 on the season. He’s dynamic both as a passer and runner and brings a unique skill set to the quarterback position that is rarely seen.
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As Beane alluded to in his comments, the argument that Allen is far more likely to be underrated than overrated is a solid one. Further evidence points to the fact that 16 NFL quarterbacks have posted at least 2,000 dropbacks over the past four years. Of those, Allen is second behind only Patrick Mahomes in expected points added (EPA) per dropback (0.215) during that span.
When looking at the NFL as a whole, in Pro Football Network’s Top 100 Players ranking, Allen is a fringe top-10 player (No. 11 overall) and the No. 3 quarterback in the league behind only Mahomes and Lamar Jackson.
Mahomes might be the undisputed best quarterback in the NFL, but the gap between Jackson and Allen is a difference of two MVP trophies for the Ravens’ signal-caller.
While last year’s high turnover numbers will be the first thing naysayers look at to discredit his body of work, when you’re as pivotal to an offense as Allen is, sometimes you need to take chances.
Furthermore, Allen may have had the second-most turnovers of all quarterbacks last season, but he was only ninth-worst in expected points lost on interceptions thrown, according to TruMedia. This means that Allen’s turnovers weren’t as harmful as some of his peers near the top.
Another underrated trait of Allen’s is that he does an excellent job of avoiding sacks. While this is a testament to his offensive line, the quarterback also needs to have strong pocket awareness and know when to get rid of the football.
In 2023, Allen was sacked just 24 times, fewest among all quarterbacks who started 17 games. According to TruMedia, Allen was also the leading quarterback in least amount of expected points lost on sacks.
While Allen might sometimes be a polarizing player and hasn’t had the playoff success and career accolades of some of his biggest rivals, he’s certainly not overrated.