John Elway thinks passing on quarterback Josh Allen in the 2018 NFL draft was arguably his worst mistake as Denver Broncos general manager.
“I played golf with him last year, and I’m wondering, ‘How long is it going to take him to realize that I passed on him and took Bradley Chubb instead?'” During a recent interview on Barstool Sports’ “Pardon My Take” podcast, Elway remembered that it took him two and a half holes.
“I adored him. But things didn’t work out. He was my type. That was arguably my worst mistake as GM, not hiring Josh.”
Elway passed on the strong-armed quarterback, who had completed 56% of his throws during his two seasons as a starter in windy Wyoming, about 130 miles up Interstate 25 from Denver.
Instead, with the fifth overall choice that year, Elway chose Chubb, the NC State pass rusher who struggled to stay healthy in Denver and was ultimately traded to the Miami Dolphins.
Elway had just signed Case Keenum, fresh off a breakthrough season in Minnesota, and he was still bitter over selecting another tall, powerful quarterback from a tiny school in the first pick two years before.
Not long after winning the franchise’s third Super Bowl, Elway selected Paxton Lynch from Memphis with the 26th choice in the 2016 NFL draft, which proved to be the worst move of his decade in command of the Broncos’ roster.
Lynch was passed over twice by seventh-round pick Trevor Siemian and played just four games before being released by the Broncos in 2018.
Elway’s double whammy of picking Lynch and skipping Allen put in motion a protracted decline for the once-proud team, which hasn’t made the playoffs since winning the Super Bowl in 2015.
Since Peyton Manning’s retirement, the Broncos have gone through 13 different starting quarterbacks, and that number will grow again this season unless veteran Jarrett Stidham beats off youngster Bo Nix and reclamation project Zach Wilson in a three-way quarterback fight. None of them have distanced themselves thus far.
Elway, who finished his Hall of Fame playing career with back-to-back Super Bowl championships in the late 1990s, returned to the organization in 2011 as director of player personnel. A year later, he was hired as executive vice president of football operations, replacing Tim Tebow with Manning, who guided the Broncos to two Super Bowl appearances in four seasons.
Elway went 64-26 in his first five seasons at the head but fell to 32-48 in his last five years before retiring after the 2020 season.
Who did Denver draft instead of Josh Allen?
Denver drafted Bradley Chubb instead of Josh Allen in the 2018 NFL Draft.
