ESPN has filled the lull of the 2024 NFL offseason with a series of NFL-executive polled positional rankings, a collection of articles in which reporter Jeremy Fowler surveyed executives, coaches, and scouts around the league and asked them to rank the top 10 players at each position. The most heavily anticipated entry of the series was released on Monday morning, as the outlet published its executive-polled quarterback ranking.

There’s no surprise at the top, as Kansas City Chiefs signal-caller Patrick Mahomes is penciled in firmly above his peers. The rest of the top five is a bit more debatable; Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen is ranked as the third-best quarterback in football, behind Mahomes and Cincinnati Bengals passer Joe Burrow.

“Allen’s blend of brilliance and inconsistency has left voters with mixed feelings,” Fowler wrote. “He received the only first-place vote that didn’t go to Mahomes — yet was outside of the top five for several voters.”

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Discourse amongst surveyed league employees seems similar to that of NFL fans this offseason—some highlight Allen’s impact on the team and prowess with both his arms and legs, while others get hung up on his turnover troubles.

“Allen is a Luka Doncic-level volume scorer,” Fowler wrote. “His 173 total touchdowns since 2020 are easily the league best, and Allen is the only quarterback in NFL history with five seasons of at least 20 passing touchdowns and five rushing touchdowns — which he did consecutively . . . But that’s not enough to convince some detractors who point to the alarming turnover numbers: 78 interceptions, 59 fumbles since 2018. In contrast, Mahomes has 62 interceptions and 36 fumbles.

“Allen’s 47 interceptions since 2020 are the most in the league. ‘One of the more overrated players in the NFL,’ a veteran NFL executive said. ‘Immense talent but he makes a lot of mistakes. He’s underdeveloped at winning at the line of scrimmage, tends to lock on to targets, more of a thrower than precision passer, forces throws into traffic.’”

The above analysis from the “veteran NFL executive” seems more fitting of the Allen of old—perhaps 2019—than it does of the Allen of today. Allen, sure, still makes the occasional bone-headed decision, but the critique of his football IQ—which has been a quietly oft-used criticism over the past several years—is just as inaccurate now as when it first reared its head. He also threads the needle several times per game; because he prefers to trust his talent and occasionally goes for the ‘big play’ does not mean he is incapable of being a precision passer.

It’s difficult to be overly upset at a player ranking within the top three at his position, especially when the person at the top of the list is so obvious and indisputable. Allen maintained his placement from a season ago, as he slotted in at No. 3 on the 2023 list, again behind Mahomes and Burrow.

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And his placement below Burrow is up for debate. Allen is coming off a season in which he led the NFL with 44 touchdowns, the fourth consecutive season in which he totaled more than 40 scores (an NFL record). He led his team to its fifth straight postseason appearance and had his team within moments of an AFC Championship game appearance. Burrow is coming off an injury-impacted campaign in which he appeared in only 10 games.

It’s… bold that Burrow remains ranked above Allen after his injury-hampered season, but he, too, did not see his ranking change from a season ago. In what was admittedly a mixed year from the Buffalo offense in which it made a coordinator change midway through the campaign, perhaps league employees simply didn’t see enough from Allen to definitively say he’s better than Burrow.

The quarterback position is ultimately about preference and what works best for a particular team’s offense—and Buffalo likely wouldn’t trade Allen for any package it was offered. Though he realistically could’ve been ranked at No. 2 on this list, No. 3 isn’t too bad. The Bills and Bengals are not set to meet in the 2024 regular season, so if Allen is eager to prove to league officials that he’s objectively better than Burrow, he’ll have to wait until a potential playoff meeting. 

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