Firebaugh's Josh Allen weathers draft day storm, taken by Bills with No. 7 pick
Firebaugh native Josh Allen was picked No. 7 overall, taken by the Buffalo Bills during the first day of the NFL draft.
Allen, who was projected to go as early as No. 1 overall, was the third quarterback taken Thursday night in Arlington, Texas – notably selected after Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield (No. 1 by Cleveland) and USC’s Sam Darnold (No. 3 by the New York Jets), but ahead of UCLA's Josh Rosen (No. 10 by Arizona).
But before the Bills selected Allen, team officials called prior to the draft and asked the former Wyoming star for an explanation regarding offensive tweets that he wrote a few years ago but resurfaced earlier Thursday.
“I owned up to my mistakes and told them what happened,” Allen said. “They trusted me. I think they did their due diligence in talking to my coaches and my teammates [at Wyoming].
“There’s never been a problem with me and my teammates.”
Allen was considered by some as a high-risk, high-reward selection.
Scouts loved his size (6 feet, 5 inches, 237 pounds and hands that measured 10 1/8 inches).
They were leery of his accuracy (sported a 56.2 completion percentage against Division I competition in two-plus seasons at Wyoming).
On top of that, there were tweets he posted in 2012-13 while still in high school that included racial slurs and other offensive language.
The 21-year-old quickly owned up to the tweets and apologized, telling ESPN hours prior to the draft that they were written when he "was young and dumb."
Not knowing if the tweets would impact his draft stock added more drama to his "stressful" day.
“I was so emotional about it because that’s not who I am as a person," Allen said. "I don’t want my teammates and the coaching staff thinking that’s who I am.
"I’m going to make sure they know who I am. There was no mal-intentions with those tweets."
On the draft podium, Allen told ESPN's Suzy Kolber he would work to win the trust of his new Buffalo teammates and didn't feel that the tweet storm would be a problem.
And he said he was looking forward to his new home, which climate-wise can be a lot like where he played the last three years.
Of Buffalo, he said, "It's a tough place to play and it's a tough team," in his ESPN interview.
The Bills paid a hefty price to move up five spots in the draft to select Allen, exchanging first-round picks with Tampa Bay while also giving the Buccaneers two second-round picks, Nos. 53 and 56.
NFL watchers say Allen could sit behind AJ McCarron in Buffalo for a year or two. McCarron came to the Bills this year as a free agent after spending his first four NFL seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals.
The only other QB on the roster is Nathan Peterman, who threw five interceptions last season in a start against San Diego. The Bills traded three-year starter Tyrod Taylor to Cleveland last month.
Before the draft, new Buffalo general manager Brando Beane had said that "one of the main jobs of a GM is to find a franchise quarterback."
The Bills hadn't invested in quarterbacks lately: Their last first-round QB was EJ Manuel in 2013.
Allen passed for more than 3,000 yards his senior season at Firebaugh High but didn't attract much college attention until he grew into his 6-foot-5 frame during his one season at Reedley College.
Even then, only Wyoming and Eastern Michigan were the only FBS schools to offer a scholarship.
He chose Wyoming and, after a broken collarbone cut short his 2015 season, put together two impressive years for the Cowboys. In particular, he showed off a rifle arm that wowed NFL scouts.
He completed 56 percent of his passes for 3,203 yards and 28 touchdowns to 15 interceptions in 14 games as a sophomore. Then in 11 games this past season, Allen had a 56.3 completion percentage with 1,812 yards and 16 touchdowns to six picks as a junior.
Allen is the latest player with ties to the central San Joaquin Valley to be selected in the first round.
Former College of the Sequoias defensive end Sheldon Richardson went No. 13 overall to the New York Jets in 2013.
Fresno State running back Ryan Mathews went No. 12 overall to the Chargers in 2010.
Other previous first-round picks out of Fresno State are: Logan Mankins (2005), David Carr (2002), Trent Dilfer (1994) and JD Williams (1990).
Raiders quarterback and Bulldogs great Derek Carr was notably taken in the second round in 2014.
This story was originally published April 26, 2018 at 5:56 PM with the headline "Firebaugh's Josh Allen weathers draft day storm, taken by Bills with No. 7 pick."