Denver Broncos legend John Elway claims he wanted to draft Josh Allen during his spell as general manager, but failed to convince the team’s coaching staff to ‘buy in’.
Allen, the reigning NFL MVP, has gone on to become one of the greatest quarterbacks of the century after being selected by the Buffalo Bills with the seventh overall pick in the 2018 draft.
While the Bills landed a franchise signal caller, the Broncos used their No 5 pick on Bradley Chubb – the defensive end who spent just four years in Denver before being traded to the Miami Dolphins.
In the seven full seasons which followed, Buffalo made it to the postseason on every occasion and to the AFC Championship game twice, while Denver’s only playoff appearance during that time ended in defeat to the Bills last year.
Almost eight years on from the draft in question, Elway has admitted he regrets not overruling head coach Vance Joseph and his team to draft Allen.
Denver Broncos legend John Elway claims he wanted to draft Josh Allen for the team in 2018
Elway told ex-Broncos tight end Shannon Sharpe that he regrets not bringing Allen to Denver
The quarterback was instead selected by the Buffalo Bills with the seventh pick that year
When asked if bringing in the Bills superstar would have changed the fortunes of his beloved franchise, he said on ex-Broncos tight end Shannon Sharpe’s ‘Club Shay Shay’ podcast: ‘I do, because I really liked him. But the problem is, and the way that I worked is, I wanted buy-in from the coaching staff. And I couldn’t get the buy-in from the coaching staff, I couldn’t get everybody on the same page with it.
‘When he was coming up he wasn’t perfect. He was very, very raw. His accuracy was the biggest question. He was athletic as hell, big, strong, competitive and all those type of things, but that was the one question.
‘I loved him and that’s why I say I regret it, because I didn’t overrule everybody and say, “I’m taking him and now it’s up to you to make him good.”‘
Elway won two Super Bowls as a quarterback for the Broncos before going on to become their general manager and executive vice president of football operations 12 years after retiring.
He spent 10 seasons in that role before becoming president of football operations in 2021, and then moving into a consultancy role the following year.
The Broncos have enjoyed one of their strongest seasons for over a decade this year under head coach Sean Payton, with a strong 13-3 record meaning they lead the AFC West heading into this weekend’s regular-season finale.
The Bills, meanwhile, sit second in the AFC East after winning 11 out of 16, but are unable of leapfrogging the 13-3 New England Patriots into top spot on Sunday.
