Sam Darnold and Josh Allen were both Top 10 picks in the 2018 NFL draft, and although they both landed in the AFC East with Darnold as the starting quarterback of the Jets and Allen as the starting quarterback of the Bills, they consider themselves friends more than rivals.
Allen said on SiriusXM NFL Radio that he and Darnold began training together before they were drafted and have become close.
“We’ve been able to rely on each other,” Allen said, via Syracuse.com. “Just kind of lean on each other I guess and just throughout the year. Texting each other and just making sure like we’re both doing OK, and we’re both adjusting well to it. So we’ve kind of had similar situations and it’s fun to have somebody like that that’s kind of going through the same things.”
Allen called Darnold “one of the greatest dudes” he’s ever met and that they make each other better.
“[I’ve taken] some things from his mechanics and tried to apply them to my game and vice versa,” Allen said. “Just kind of picking each other’s brains as far as defenses and types of concepts that we’re running. We don’t get too deep. So I don’t know if my coaches [are listening]. But we don’t get too deep, but it’s fun to kind of talk to somebody who’s kind of going through the same thing.”
Allen and Darnold will likely be competing against each other twice a season for years to come. A rivalry, but a friendly one.