Josh Allen will be showcased as a player — not an analyst — at the 2018 NFL Draft.
That didn't keep the Wyoming quarterback from channeling his inner Mike Mayock when asked about last weekend's trade executed to help the Jets finally land a franchise quarterback.
Gang Green hopped three spots to No. 3 overall in a stunning deal with the Colts. The impetus was to foil the recent attempts of another QB-needy team — the Bills — to climb ahead of New York along the draft ladder.
"If (the Jets) find a guy they fall in love with, I think that's a team's job to go get them if they feel that's the future of their program," Allen told co-host Gil Brandt and me on SiriusXM NFL Radio. "They only traded three second-round picks for it …"
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Only???
"To keep their first-round pick next year was pretty big," Allen explained. "Sometimes, it takes another first-round pick (to move up).
"Luckily for them, they didn't have to do that. I think they've still got some good quality there."
The Jets should love Allen's take if he's indeed the Big Apple of their eye.
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The big-city arrival of a California farm boy via (Wyoming) Cowboy country is an even stronger possibility now, provided:
1: Allen isn't chosen first overall by the Browns or targeted as Eli Manning's heir apparent with the Giants at No. 2.
2: The Browns and/or Giants don't trade out of their respective slots with teams seeking QBs. The Broncos and Bills are the most likely candidates but such moves currently seem unlikely (at best).
3: Allen is preferred over other members of this year's "Big Four" QB class: USC's Sam Darnold, UCLA's Josh Rosen and Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield.
The evaluation process to help create separation between the quartet continues Friday at Wyoming's Pro Day.
Although he won't participate in any of the running or jumping drills after posting impressive scores earlier this month at the NFL Combine, Allen will run a scripted series of passes that he says are designed to "showcase your talent and ability and also improvement that you made over the offseason."
Allen said he will be bringing the wide receivers he has prepped with the past two weeks in Southern California to the Wyoming campus because the school doesn't have any senior receivers for him to throw with, which is the customary protocol among QB prospects from bigger programs.
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"It should demonstrate every type of throw," Allen said of his script. "I'm looking forward to Friday for sure."
The same goes for interested suitors in attendance to see Allen do more than showcase arm talent in aerial displays that will include an attempt to support a recent claim to an NFL scout that he could throw an 82-yard pass in the air ["I guess we'll kind of find out on Friday," Allen said.]
Allen expects meetings with teams around his Pro Day will be an extension of Combine interviews that he separated into two categories.
Allen considered one group of the get-to-know-you variety because those clubs didn't have much if any interaction with him in January at the Reese's Senior Bowl.
The other peppered him with more Xs-and-Os questions designed to see whether Allen's smarts match up with his prototype 6-5, 237-pound size and break-any-plate-at-the-carnival-no-matter-how-much-it's-rigged arm strength.
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"My schedule is pretty jam-packed meeting with quite a bit of teams," Allen said. "They want to come to Laramie and get to know who I am. I'm sitting down at dinner with a few (unidentified) teams.
"Obviously they've all seen me throw the past couple of months and throughout my collegiate career, but Pro Day is just one thing more to check off the box."
So is dispelling concerns about his accuracy, which is one of the biggest knocks on Allen after he failed to complete better than 57 percent of his passes during two seasons as a Cowboys starter before turning pro early.
Allen said he has improved through several months of predraft work with QB coach (and NFL reserve) Jordan Palmer.
"I think that any time I would miss in college, it was largely due to my feet," Allen said. "In getting with Jordan, I've been trying to correct my feet through every throw and make sure that I was sequencing consistently. Once my feet started to clean up, that's when you started seeing the ball placed in the right positions."
Allen said other areas Palmer directed his focus were "getting on the board (to diagram plays), watching our own film to try and correct mistakes, and really diving into defenses and the responsibilities of each guy in certain coverages."
"It's been a tremendous blessing to have Jordan," Allen said.
Allen isn't the only highly touted QB that Palmer is training, which actually has an ancillary benefit to the former. Darnold and Allen have become close by going through a shared experience while pushing each other on the field.
"As person, he's just really down to earth and really cool," Allen said of Darnold. "I don't have a bad thing to say about Sam. We've been living together the last couple of months and he's become a really good friend of mine.
"When you see him throw, he's as consistent as anybody out there. He rarely has a bad day. He rarely misses. It's been impressive to see him handle that aspect and actually get out there and compete with him every day. It's been really fun."
Allen calls it "a friendly rivalry."
"I'm sure we made each other better," he said.
And as he points out, the Jets feel they did the same with what may not be the last bold move to secure a marquee passer like Allen on April 26.
Alex Marvez can be heard from 7-11 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday on SiriusXM NFL Radio.
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