Bills GM Brandon Beane reveals major regret after drafting Josh Allen: "I screwed up"

Josh Allen has consistently ranked among the top quarterbacks in the NFL over the last four seasons. With his superior rushing skills and powerful arm, he has established himself as one of the best QBs in today's game. He has also helped the Bills make the NFL playoffs in each of the previous five years, winning at least one game in four of them.

Despite his recent success, Allen struggled heavily in his first two seasons as the Bills' quarterback. He combined to throw just 30 touchdowns and 21 interceptions across those two years while completing less than 60 percent of his passes in both of them. He appeared to be in jeopardy of being a draft bust but has bounced back in a major way.

Bills general manager Brandon Beane blamed himself for the struggles that Allen went through early on in his career. He outlined why during an interview on The Athletic NFL Show.

"One of the first lessons I learned that I screwed up was, when you know for those teams drafting a rookie quarterback, I didn't have someone here with the right experience, a veteran for Josh to lean on," Beane said.

"Early on, Josh was kind of struggling a bit, and going through his thing, and I realized it, and it was stupid of me not to have done it. But I got Derek Anderson in here around Week 5 or 6, and I should have had that before."

Before signing veteran Derek Anderson, the Bills had just Matt Barkley and Nathan Peterman as the only other two quarterbacks on their roster during Josh Allen's rookie season in 2018.

Brandon Beane apparently believes that this contributed to his slow start. Whether or not this was what solved the issue, it worked out in a major way for the Bills' seventh-overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.

QBs selected before Josh Allen in 2018 NFL Draft

Josh Allen was one of four quarterbacks who were reportedly considered for the top overall selection in the 2018 NFL Draft. The Cleveland Browns decided to go in a different direction when they picked Baker Mayfield instead with the first pick.

The New York Jets followed that up by selecting Sam Darnold with the third-overall pick.

The Buffalo Bills were the third team to select a quarterback in 2018 when they drafted Josh Allen with the seventh pick. Josh Rosen went a few picks later to the Arizona Cardinals at 10th, making Allen the third choice of the four quarterbacks selected in the top 10. It's safe to say that the Bills won with their selection, as Allen has had a far superior career to the other three so far.