INDIANAPOLIS — The NFL prospects who stand on the podium here field one shouted inquiry after another about their itineraries.
Are you meeting with Team A? What about Team B? Any chance you’ll talk to Team C?
For former Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen and the Broncos, though, there is no mystery about a meeting. The two parties spent ample time together during the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., back in January. It was a week that gave Allen a chance to get familiar with coach Vance Joseph and his staff.
And, yes, Allen has given thought to what it might be like to begin his pro career just a couple hours from Laramie, if the Broncos were to select him with the No. 5 pick in April.
“They’ve got a great coaching staff, and I say that with true words,” he said. “They’ve got the right things going on. Obviously, they’ve won a Super Bowl within the last few years. They know how to win, and if I was fortunate enough to land there, whether it’s at five or wherever they were to draft, I think it’s a very good spot to be in.”
The last part of Allen’s comment could be a subtle hint that the Broncos would have to move up in the draft to select Allen. Some draft analysts, including Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN, have predicted Allen will fall No. 1.
That’s why Allen faced one question after another Friday about what it would be like to be taken by Cleveland with that top pick and become the latest quarterback tasked with resurrecting a downtrodden franchise.
“I’d go in there with everything that I have and try to instill a winning mindset and that type of attitude, try
and become a leader of the team, getting with the vets of the locker room and understanding what we needed to do to try to turn things around,” Allen said. “A couple years ago, Wyoming went 2-10. The next year we went 8-6, won the Mountain West division title. I’m not saying that was the same situation, but I’ve been in something very similar and it’s football. I love football.”
