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Josh Allen, Ben Roethlisberger comparison not accurate

By Nick Dudukovich

MOBILE, AL - JANUARY 27: Josh Allen #17 of the North team throws the ball during the first half of the Reese's Senior Bowl against the the South team at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on January 27, 2018 in Mobile, Alabama. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
MOBILE, AL - JANUARY 27: Josh Allen #17 of the North team throws the ball during the first half of the Reese's Senior Bowl against the the South team at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on January 27, 2018 in Mobile, Alabama. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /
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Comparing Josh Allen to Ben Roethlisberger couldn’t be more misguided as the two were in different positions coming out of college.

Former Jets and Bills coach Rex Ryan talked up a quarterback recently, comparing him to Ben Roethlisberger.

Ryan described this signal caller as someone with a good athlete with a “big arm” and “good movement” in the pocket, via The MMQB.

My first thought? DeShone Kizer fits this comparison, in fact, some, including me, said the same things about the former Browns’ quarterback around the 2017 draft.

Ryan wasn’t comparing Kizer to the two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback, though, he was talking up the abilities of Wyoming prospect Josh Allen.

Josh Allen and Roethlisberger? I hadn’t heard the comparison yet, so Ryan’s words were intriguing,  yet the former coach really didn’t offer any intricate analysis outside of the arm, size, athlete traits both men share.

Sure, Allen could always turn into a Roethlisberger-type quarterback–with that arm, anything’s possible, but it’s worth noting that the two couldn’t have been any more different leaving college.

It’s worth comparing their college careers because both played at small schools, with the biggest difference being Big Ben excelled at Miami University, while Allen was just OK at Wyoming.

Roethlisberger, in his final collegiate season, completed 69 percent of his passes, a six percent jump from his sophomore campaign.

He also won, uplifting a school more known for being a “Public Ivy” than a university that churned out big football wins. The 2003 Redhawks went 13-1, and Roesthliberger didn’t shy away from pressure as he guided the Redhawks to a rare Bowl apperance.

That’s what truly great players do, though, isn’t it? Especially the quarterback. These players need to be leaders who make everyone else around them better. Big Ben did it at Miami, and that continued in the pros.

Unlike Ben, Allen’s completion percentage didn’t take a leap in this third season, as he completed just 56.3 percent of his passes, up only 0.3 percent from his sophomore campaign.

This is the No. 1 case against taking Allen with the first, or even the fourth pick for that matter. Allen’s completion percentage is a lot more like Kizer’s than Big Ben’s.

Allen didn’t do a lot to uplift Wyoming, either. He did lead them to a Bowl victory, but it came in the Idaho Potato Bowl against Buffalo. Roethlisberger had the Redhawks ranked nationally. Wyoming was 8-5 with Allen starting 11 games.

Allen supporters will argue that he didn’t have the best talent around, but neither did Big Ben, yet Roethlisberger found a way to excel.

And when the Steelers made him a first-round pick, they weren’t drafting someone based solely on upside. Pittsburgh saw what Ben could be based off what the tape showed he already was.

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