AFC Notes: Josh Allen, Bills, Jets, Patriots

Bills

Bills QB Josh Allen admitted he needs to begin sliding more frequently and cannot continue taking hits. 

“I’ve always had the mindset of, I’ve been a football player first and a quarterback second,” Allen said, via Lorenzo Reyes of USA Today. “At some point that is going to have to switch. When that point is, I don’t know. I guess I’ll let my body tell me. It sounds crazy, but I’m getting older. I know I can’t continue to do this. I know when I’m using my youth, I feel like I can, but over the course of my career I’m going to have to learn to adapt and change.”

Allen said he wants to be the “smartest quarterback” he can. 

“I do want to be the smartest quarterback with the football in my hands,” Allen said. “I don’t want to put the football in harm’s way because I know how detrimental that is to our team with the interceptions and the fumbles.”

Allen recalls moments where he could’ve slid when in the open field instead of fighting for extra yards against defenders. 

“There were some times last year when I’m in the open field, I don’t need an extra two yards,” Allen said. “Get down, slide and live to fight another down. Again, it has worked up to this point, but I understand that there’s going to be a point in time when it’s not going to work so well.”

Jets

Former Buccaneers GM Mark Dominik thinks the Jets should build their offensive line in the 2023 NFL Draft given they are invested in Aaron Rodgers. 

“I would lean toward the offensive line, personally,” said Dominik, Rich Cimini of ESPN. “If I’m invested and I’ve got this guy named Aaron Rodgers, as much as I’ve just spent some time with that offensive line in trying to get it right, Becton has got me very nervous. Can he stay out there? I need a guy. I think the offensive line is a critical spot where they have to continue to push players, especially if I’ve got Aaron Rodgers back there. As much as there are other areas I could continue to build on, I think that’s the spot where I’m going to absolutely sink my investment.”

ESPN’s Todd McShay thinks Georgia OT Broderick Jones makes “a lot of sense” for New York. 

“I do think Broderick Jones makes a lot of sense [for the Jets],” McShay said. “I think Skoronski probably will be gone by 13. Broderick Jones has the most athletic upside and he doesn’t have a lot of wear and tear on him. … I see the athletic traits there to develop into a really good starter.”

Patriots

Patriots’ director of player personnel Matt Groh they are hoping to find an impact player at No. 14 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft. 

“You’re hoping there at 14 you can get a pretty good player,” Groh said, via Chad Graff of The Athletic. “I’d say throughout the first round there’s an old philosophy: You’re taking a player in the first round, you’re hoping that player is going to come in and make an impact for you.”

When pressed on whether the Patriots have done enough to improve the roster, Groh said they are working to improve on identifying players. 

“I would not say that as a personnel staff we said, ‘Oh yeah, our personnel was good enough,’” Groh said. “We’ve got to try and improve in every way. That starts with me. I’ve got to try and improve and do a better job and identify the players we think can help us win more games — because we’ve got to win more games. We were an 8-9 football team. As the old saying goes, you are what (your record says) you are. That’s a losing record. I think we’ve got to get better across the board.”

Groh said they evaluate every position, including the quarterback spot with Mac Jones. 

“But nobody ever told me, ‘Don’t worry about evaluating quarterbacks,’” Groh said. “We evaluate every position, and quarterback is certainly a very important position, if not the most important position.”