Why Broncos passed on Josh Allen in the 2018 NFL Draft: John Elway explains Bradley Chubb 'regret'

On April 26, 2018, the future of the Buffalo Bills' franchise changed forever.

Six picks came off the NFL Draft board in the first round, leaving Buffalo at No. 7 overall with a decision to make. The Bills had acquired that pick from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, moving up from No. 12 to get the player they wanted. And it wasn't much of a secret that the Bills needed a quarterback after starting Tyrod Taylor and Nathan Peterman the prior season.

However, Buffalo had some options in a loaded draft. Had Sam Darnold fallen, he would've been an option. Josh Rosen was another bigger-name passer projected to go in the first round. But ultimately, the player the Bills decided on, Josh Allen, shaped the future of their offense and how limitless it would become.

Allen, years before he would become an MVP, landed in Buffalo, meaning three of the top-seven picks in 2018 were quarterbacks. One team who didn't take a passer in that range? The Denver Broncos, who took a defensive prospect despite not having a set-in-stone franchise quarterback.

Years later, hindsight says the Broncos should have taken Allen — and John Elway, the team's general manager at the time and a former Denver star quarterback himself, also has said he "regrets" not acting on his instincts to select the future MVP with the No. 5 pick in 2018.

Why didn't the Broncos draft Josh Allen in 2018? Here's a look at why Denver passed on the future star quarterback and why Elway has claimed he tried to convince his organization to take Allen. 

MORE: Everything to know about Josh Allen's draft scouting report, how he landed with Bills

Why the Broncos passed on drafting Josh Allen

Allen was never quite expected to land at the very top of the 2018 NFL Draft, but he was considered a high-end prospect who was projected to go in the first round. Baker Mayfield, Saquon Barkley and Sam Darnold, three players who would go on to find plenty of success in the NFL, went with the first three picks.

With Darnold off the board, however, that meant Allen and Rosen were in-line to be the next quarterbacks taken. At No. 4, the Cleveland Browns took cornerback Denzel Ward as the first defensive player, leaving the Broncos with a decision to make at No. 5.

In 2017, the Broncos started Trevor Siemian, Brock Osweiler and Paxton Lynch at quarterback. None of them impressed, as Denver went 5-11 in its second season post-Peyton Manning. In other words, the Broncos needed a young quarterback. But instead of taking one, they signed Case Keenum in free agency and gave him the keys to the offense.

Denver took a defensive player at No. 5, allowing Allen to fall to No. 7 after the Colts selected offensive lineman Quenton Nelson with the sixth pick. As the years passed, however, and Allen went from young backup to superstar and 2024 MVP, Denver's selection looked questionable — especially considering the Broncos continued to cycle through uninspiring quarterbacks, including Joe Flacco, Drew Lock, Teddy Bridgewater and Russell Wilson.

With the 7th overall selection in the 2018 NFL Draft, the Buffalo Bills select QB Josh Allen.

📺: NFLN/FOX/ESPN pic.twitter.com/ddb1HRndNr

— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) April 27, 2018

Elway, who was in charge of the Broncos' front office at the time, later said in 2025 that he "really liked" Allen as a prospect.

"The problem is, the way that I worked, I wanted buy-in from the coaching staff and I couldn’t get the buy-in from the coaching staff. I couldn’t get everybody on the same page with it,” Elway explained on "Club Shay Shay" in 2025. “When I say I regret it, it’s because I didn’t overrule everybody and say, ‘I’m taking him. I’m taking him because now it’s up to you to make him good.’”

MORE: Where does Josh Allen rank among the greatest Bills players ever?

Who did Broncos draft instead of Josh Allen?

While Elway claims he pushed his front office to take Allen, they ultimately selected defensive end Bradley Chubb out of NC State instead. Chubb started his career out strong — he recorded 12 sacks as a rookie in 2018 and 7.5 in 2020 — but injuries prevented him from maintaining that production, and in 2022, Denver traded Chubb to the Dolphins.

According to Elway, then-Broncos head coach Vance Joseph, who has a defensive background, preferred Chubb over Allen at No. 6. Without full buy-in from his staff, Elway didn't want to take a quarterback, and Allen was also viewed as a bit of a project.

“I love him now [but] when he was coming out he wasn’t perfect,” Elway said of Allen on "Chub Shay Shay" in 2025. “He was very, very raw, right? And you know his accuracy was the biggest question. He was athletic as hell, big, strong, competitive and all those type of things. But you know that was the one question.”

As things then turned out, Joseph was fired after the 2018 season, Elway's 10-year run as the Broncos’ president of football operations ended in 2021, and Chubb dealt with injuries before being traded in 2022. Meanwhile, Allen blossomed into a superstar in Buffalo, while it took Denver until 2024 to land a premiere young quarterback in Bo Nix.

“The was probably my biggest mistake of my GM days was not taking Josh,” Elway said on “Pardon My Take” in July 2024.

John Elway biggest regret is not drafting Josh Allen @draftkings #Dkpartner pic.twitter.com/dbXyNVD5vx

— Pardon My Take (@PardonMyTake) July 29, 2024

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2018 NFL Draft 

Here's a look at the top-15 picks in the 2018 NFL Draft.

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