John Elway bemoans not drafting Josh Allen (2024)

John Elway helped build Broncos teams that won five straight AFC West titles, made two Super Bowl appearances and captured one Super Bowl title in his 10 seasons as the general manager. He brought Peyton Manning to Denver in 2012 after arguably the most high-profile pursuit of a free agent in NFL history. He drafted Von Miller, who could become a first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer, just as Elway was five years after his brilliant playing career ended following the second of two Super Bowl victories in 1999.

Still, you don’t run a front office for over a decade without making mistakes. And Elway has made clear there is one that still gnaws at him.

During a guest appearance on an episode of the “Pardon My Take” podcast published Monday, Elway said not selecting current Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen during the 2018 NFL Draft “was probably my biggest mistake of my GM days.” The Broncos had the No. 5 pick in the draft and used it to select North Carolina State pass rusher Bradley Chubb. Allen, who played two hours away from Denver at the University of Wyoming, was selected by the Bills with the No. 7 pick.

Elway said on the podcast that the conversation came up with Allen when the two were paired during a celebrity golf tournament last year.

“I played with him and I’m going, ‘I wonder how long is it going to take him to realize I passed on him and took Bradley Chubb instead,'” Elway said on the podcast. “And it took him two-and-a-half holes to bring it up.”

At the time, the Broncos were still looking for an answer at quarterback in the wake of Manning’s retirement. Elway had drafted Paxton Lynch in the first round in 2016, but he floundered and was released after two seasons and four starts. Denver signed Case Keenum in free agency in 2018, but with the No. 5 pick in a draft that was considered to be loaded with quarterbacks — Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen and Lamar Jackson were also selected in the first round — many expected Elway to draft another quarterback.

Mayfield (No. 1 to the Browns) and Darnold (No. 3 to the Jets) were drafted before the Broncos were on the clock. That still left Allen, whose physical traits as a big-armed quarterback who could run drew comparisons to Elway, and Jackson, who went No. 32 to the Ravens and has since won two league MVP awards. The Broncos went with Chubb. The pass rusher had been viewed as arguably the best defensive player in college football in 2017 and finished his rookie season with 12 sacks. He made the Pro Bowl in 2020. But much of his career in Denver was marred by injuries, and he was traded to the Dolphins in 2022.

“I loved him, but it just didn’t work out,” Elway said of Allen. “He was my type (of quarterback). That was probably my biggest mistake of my GM days, not taking Josh.”

Whether Allen, who has made two Pro Bowl teams and has guided the Bills to five straight playoff appearances, would have developed in the same way with the Broncos is impossible to know. What’s clear is the Broncos have been unable to find the answer at the quarterback position since Manning retired. Since 2016, they’ve had six different Week 1 starting quarterbacks in eight seasons. That will become seven quarterbacks in nine seasons when either Bo Nix, Jarrett Stidham or Zach Wilson starts for Denver in its 2024 opener at Seattle on Sept. 8. It’s a revolving-door stretch that has coincided with seven straight losing seasons for the Broncos.

There’s no way to know whether Allen would have put the franchise on a different course, but taking the Wyoming quarterback seems to be the move Elway would make if he got to do it over again.

(Photo: Dustin Bradford / Getty Images)

Nick Kosmider is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Denver Broncos. He previously covered the Denver Nuggets for The Athletic after spending five years at the Denver Post, where he covered the city’s professional sports scene. His other stops include The Arizona Republic and MLB.com. Follow Nick on Twitter @NickKosmider