Unearthing a prospect’s skeletons is a time-honored NFL Draft tradition. But did one team take things too far?
A report published Wednesday night by Yahoo Sports’ Ryan Young revealed several offensive tweets former Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen posted while he was in high school. The tweets, most of which were sent in 2012 and 2013 (before he arrived at Wyoming), contain racist slurs (including the n-word) and offensive language.
Allen acknowledged and apologized for the tweets late Wednesday night, telling ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith they were the product of immaturity and youthful ignorance. Still, it’s not the best look for these to surface the night before the 2018 NFL Draft.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, though, that timing might have been all part of the plan for one nefarious team.
A theory two people in the past hour now have floated: another team plotted to have Josh Allen’s racially insensitive tweets put out just before the draft in order to increase the chances he would fall in the draft to that team.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 26, 2018
We would say that’s a new low, but NFL teams have proven they’re shameless when it comes to evaluating and targeting talent.
As Young pointed out, Allen’s tweets cited in his story still hadn’t been deleted as of Wednesday night, so anyone could have found them. But it’s entirely possible a club planned to bring them into the public spotlight in an elaborate attempt at gamesmanship.
Of course, Allen’s tweets shouldn’t affect his draft stock — while undoubtedly offensive, a handful of five-year-old social media posts aren’t necessarily a reflection of who he is today. We’ll find out Thursday night if that’s true, as Allen has been touted as a top-10 pick and one of the best QBs in the draft.
