After being dubbed the NFL’s biggest trash-talker, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen did what villains do best: he took to social media.
In an anonymous poll of over 100 current NFL players released by ESPN on Tuesday, August 27, Allen, 28, was also named the league’s “most overrated” quarterback in the league, in addition to earning the position’s trash-talking distinction.
“So you’re telling me, I was voted as the #1 … best trash talker???” Allen wrote in response via X on Wednesday, August 28. “Let’s goooooo!!!”
In the poll, one NFC East player said of Allen, “He’s going to run you over and talk trash after he runs you over.”
Allen topped the trash-talker list with 26 votes, followed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Baker Mayfield and the New York Jets’ Aaron Rodgers, who received 17 and 15 votes, respectively.
Other top vote-getters included the Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes, the Cincinnati Bengals’ Joe Burrow and the Houston Texans’ C.J. Stroud.
On the “most overrated” list, one NFC West player named Allen because he commits “too many turnovers.” Allen threw 18 interceptions last season, second-most in the NFL behind the Washington Commanders’ Sam Howell. Since the start of the 2008 season, Allen’s 102 turnovers lead the league.
Allen narrowly topped the list with 11 votes, one more than a second-place tie between the Philadelphia Eagles’ Jalen Hurts and Miami Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa.
Since being drafted by the Bills in 2018, Allen has helped lead the Bills to four division titles and five postseason appearances, though a Super Bowl berth has remained elusive.
Other top “overrated” vote-getters included the Los Angeles Chargers’ Justin Herbert, the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Trevor Lawrence, the Cleveland Browns’ Deshaun Watson, the Arizona Cardinals’ Kyler Murray and the San Francisco 49ers’ Brock Purdy.
The poll also asked players who they think is the best quarterback in the NFL, with Mahomes, the Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson and Burrow topping the list, in that order.
On the topic of Mahomes, players were asked to make their choice for the greatest quarterback of all time. With a total of seven votes, the Kansas City Chiefs star finished a distant second to Tom Brady’s 85 votes.
“Mahomes is on his way, but he’s not there yet,” one NFC South player said. “You can’t disrespect Tom Brady. He has seven rings. That’s a long way to go.”
With three Super Bowl rings to his name, Mahomes will begin his quest for a fourth — and third in a row — when the Chiefs open the 2024-25 regular season against the Ravens on September 5.
Meanwhile, Allen and the Bills open their season September 8 against the Cardinals.
