The Buffalo Bills and general manager Brandon Beane hit the jackpot with quarterback Josh Allen. They selected him No. 7 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft out of Wyoming. He was raw but had a huge arm and the combination of size and athleticism to become a star.
In the early going, it was clear development was needed. Josh Allen struggled in some facets. He took over the starting job in Week 2 of his rookie season from Nathan Peterman. In 12 games, 11 of which were starts, he completed 52.8 percent of his passes for 2,074 yards with 10 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
Brandon Beane believes some of those early struggles are his fault. During an appearance on “The Athletic Football Show,” he was asked by analyst Robert Mays if there was anything he would do differently during his tenure as general manager.
Without hesitation, he said his biggest regret was not helping Josh Allen more after being selected No. 7 overall. He went into great detail explaining he should have done a better job of having a veteran presence around for Allen to learn from.
“One of the first lessons I learned that I screwed up was when, ya know for those teams drafting a rookie quarterback, I didn’t have someone here with the right experience, a veteran for Josh to lean on,” Beane said.
“Early on Josh was kinda struggling a bit and going through his thing and I realized it and it was stupid of me not to have done it — but I got Derek Anderson in here around week 5 or 6. And I should’ve had that before.” (H/T Heavy)
Having a veteran to lean on is something that every young player, regardless of position, can benefit from. Brandon Beane eventually rectified the mistake, bringing in Derek Anderson a few weeks later.
But, it is something, to this day, that he regrets. Anderson was someone that he and the Bills liked because of how well he handled things earlier in his career with Cam Newton on the Carolina Panthers.
“I knew D.A,” Beane continued. “He did such great things for Cam [Newton]… We were looking at some young guys to give them a chance. But really, we put all our assets into Josh Allen. I got too cute. That was the first big ‘you dumbass’ I said to myself.”
Everything eventually worked out for Brandon Beane, Josh Allen and the Bills. He is one of the best quarterbacks in the league, putting up MVP numbers year in and year out. In three out of the last four seasons, he has finished in the top five of MVP voting.
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