John Elway Admits He Made A Terrible Mistake

John Elway is quite literally Colorado royalty at this point. 

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He not only is one of the the most iconic players in NFL history, but is can be categorized as the quintessential Denver Bronco.

In his playing days, he was known for his absolutely electric arm talent, which won him an MVP back in 1987.

He also won the first Broncos’ first two Super Bowls in his last two seasons as Denver’s signal caller.

He also found great success as the Broncos’ General Manager in the beginning of the 2010s, signing Peyton Manning and winning another Super Bowl.

However, since Peyton Manning retired, the Broncos have had an incredibly hard time finding a replacement at quarterback.

It has led to John Elway admitting he made a critical mistake that may have set the Broncos back years.

John Elway Admits Not Drafting Quarterback Josh Allen Was a Mistake

Back in the 2018 NFL Draft, the Broncos had many different holes to fill, but a major one was still quarterback.

Up to that point, there had been a few different QBs who had started for the Broncos, including Trevor Siemian, Paxton Lynch, and Brock Osweiler. 

With the 5th overall pick in the draft, the Broncos had a chance to draft another QB, including Wyoming’s Josh Allen.

Allen was an incredibly intriguing prospect. He had an absolute cannon of an arm, but it was unrefined and inaccurate. However, he could also get it done on the ground as well, showing potential to be a guy who could make things work out of structure.

However, the Broncos had just also inked a deal with a different quarterback, Case Keenum, who was coming off a career year in Minnesota. 

Instead of taking another gamble on another talented but raw prospect, Elway decided to get another edge rusher in Bradley Chubb.

Allen would end up landing with the Buffalo Bills two picks later. 

Recently, Elway went on the Pardon My Take podcast and said this was the biggest mistake of his entire career as a GM. 

What Happened to Bradley Chubb and Josh Allen?

Here’s the thing, drafting Bradley Chubb with the 5th overall pick was not an entirely bad move. 

Chubb immediately made an impact alongside Von Miller, getting 12 sacks and getting on the Pro Football Writers Association’s All Rookie-Team.

However, despite getting to a Pro Bowl in 2020, Chubb would never again reach the heights of his rookie season with the Broncos. He eventually got traded to the Miami Dolphins in 2022, where last year he played a big role in bolstering their defense. 

On the other hand, the beginning of Josh Allen’s career was definitely rough.

In 11 games as the Bills’ starter in 2018, he threw for just 2,074 yards, 10 TDs, threw 12 interceptions, and had an abysmal passer rating of 67.9. However, he added 631 yards on the ground along with 8 TDs as well.

In year 2, he showed improvement, leading the Bills’ to the playoffs.

However, he exploded onto the scene in 2020, throwing for 4,544 yards, 37 TDs, and had an absurd 107.2 passer rating, all the while leading the Bills to a 13-3 record.

From then on, Josh Allen has become a perennial MVP candidate and consistently is in talks as a Top 3 quarterback in the league. 

It’s safe to say Case Keenum didn’t work out in Denver. The Broncos went 6-10 in his only season under center, and he was traded to Washington afterwards.

Since then, the Broncos have had 8 different starting quarterbacks.

If John Elway ended up taking Josh Allen, the Broncos may be in a completely different spot instead of looking down the barrel of yet another long rebuild.

Hopefully, Bo Nix is the answer Denver needs.