John Elway Shares Biggest Draft Regret as Denver Broncos GM

Look away, Broncos fans.

“Last year I played [golf] with him and I’m wondering, ‘How long is it going to take him to realize that I passed on him and took Bradley Chubb instead?’ And it took him two and a half holes,” Elway said on Barstool Sports’ “Pardon my Take” podcast.

“And I loved him. But it just didn’t work out. He was my type. That was probably my biggest mistake of my GM days, was not taking Josh.”

The franchise legend and former general manager admitted that passing on Allen in the 2018 NFL Draft was arguably the biggest mistake of his tenure. Denver owned the fifth pick in the draft and lacked a franchise quarterback. Instead of taking a shot on Allen, Elway and Co. selected Chubb following a strong showing at NC State.

Just two years earlier, Elway selected Paxton Lynch out of Memphis with the 26th pick. Lynch appeared in five games for the Broncos and was out of the NFL after two seasons. Meanwhile, Allen holds a 63-30 record as Buffalo’s starting QB and has finished in the top-5 of MVP voting three times.

Now, the Broncos will turn to rookie Bo Nix — the No. 12 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft — to lead the franchise and end an eight-year postseason drought.