The Big Lead

Josh Allen Looks Eerily Like Terrelle Pryor

By Henry McKenna

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While Josh Allen’s arm has power that demands inspection from NASA, his mobility has put him in rare company. In Week 13, he rushed nine times for 135 yards on Sunday in the Buffalo Bills’ loss to the Miami Dolphins.

He’s averaging 48.6 yards per game and 6.8 yards per carry, with 389 rushing yards and four touchdowns in eight games. He’s had 234 rushing yards over the last two games. Here are the modern quarterbacks that have averaged more yards per game in a season.

  • Randall Cunningham (1990)
  • Michael Vick (2002-2004, 2006, 2010, 2013)
  • Robert Griffin III (2012)
  • Terrelle Pryor (2013)
  • Russell Wilson (2014)

Yes, Allen shares company with some of the best running quarterbacks in some of their best running seasons. The problem is that Allen isn’t throwing the ball well.

He’s completing 52.9 percent of this passes for 6.4 yards per attempt, a 3.7 interception percentage and 152.9 yards per game. Despite his mobility, he has a 10.7 sack percentage, third-worst in the NFL. He has five touchdowns and seven interceptions. He’s 3-4 as a starter.

So maybe my suggestion about converting him to tight end isn’t so ridiculous after all. Why? Well, he statically resembles Pryor, who has since gotten converted to receiver. During an 11-game span in 2012 with the Raiders, Pryor completed 57.4 percent of his passes for 6.6 yards per attempt and 163.6 yards per game. He was throwing interceptions a a 4.0 percent clip while putting up seven touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

Allen is the spitting image of Pryor.

The idea, however, was that Allen could someday turn into a Ben Roethlisberger. Allen has prototypical size (6-foot-5, 235 pounds), and is strong enough to stand in the pocket. After seeing what Allen can do on the ground, the goal for Allen should probably be closer to Cam Newton. The problem is that Newton was a statistical marvel in his rookie year, with 4,051 yards, 21 touchdowns and 17 interceptions.

Allen has a long way to go before he starts drawing comparisons to Newton. But the fact that Allen has taken a step in Newton’s direction is an interesting development for a player who has always been unique.