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Allen improved in year two, so what signals growth in year three?
The 2020 NFL season is only a few months away, signaling the start of a very important season for Josh Allen. That importance is centered directly around Allen’s improvement in his third season—but what constitutes improvement for him? Is it team success or a deep playoff run? Is it an improvement statistically or simply Allen continuing to grow as the leader and face of this franchise? Well, it’s a mixture of it all.
The best quarterbacks in the NFL all have a good blend of all those categories. Patrick Mahomes has a very complete team around him to aid his success while incorporating that already amazing talent. It’s shown how that balance of personal and team success blends with Mahomes. Fifty touchdowns in year two, a league MVP, two trips in two years to the AFC Championship game, one Super Bowl appearance, a Super Bowl victory, and a Super Bowl MVP. If that’s not enough, he still might be improving.
While the 50 touchdowns might be a bit too much to ask for from Allen at this point with an MVP on top of that, it’s very possible the improvements made around him can help boost Allen’s game to another level and allow for a deep playoff run. From year one to year two, Allen improved in many areas of his game. His touchdowns went up, interceptions went down, accuracy improved, and so did the win total—from six to ten. While that coincided with better weapons around him and a better offensive line, you could see just by watching last year he was a different quarterback from his rookie year.
Allen now has a legit number-one receiver in Stefon Diggs, another year of chemistry with John Brown and Cole Beasley, an improving Devin Singletary, and the entire offensive line from last year returns in 2020. All of that while remaining in Brian Daboll’s offense since his rookie year, which is a type of continuity that players like Darnold or Mayfield haven’t been able to enjoy since they came into the league. With all of those factors, I don’t believe it’s crazy for Allen to get to at least 60% completion percentage, with close to 30 touchdown passes. It also isn’t crazy to say that with Allen improving and the team around him, a deep playoff run is possible. Ultimately, improvement for Allen this season will be measured in terms of personal growth, but also with team growth and team success.
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