Scott Ferguson rocked back and forth and took a big sip of beer before the moment of truth. He closed his eyes and looked down at the floor.
Then, he crumpled.
Ferguson sank into a chair, his face in his hands. How could this have happened? He came back up only to raise double bird gestures at the television.
What had caused Ferguson such distress?
Bills first-round pick Josh Allen poses at then-New Era Field the day after he was selected by the team in the 2018 NFL draft.
Seven years ago this week, the Buffalo Bills selected quarterback Josh Allen out of Wyoming with the No. 7 pick in the NFL draft.
The reaction across Western New York at the time included quite a bit of horror.
鈥淪o, I had decided, in my infinite knowledge of seeing a couple of highlights here and there, that Josh Rosen was the guy that the Bills should pick, and, clearly, I knew best,鈥 Ferguson told The Buffalo News.
People are also reading…
鈥淎nd I had also simultaneously decided that Josh Allen was going to be the biggest bust of the draft, and I wanted nothing to do with him. And I based all of this on literally next to nothing.鈥
Ferguson was far from alone.
Allen鈥檚 journey from highly-questioned prospect to reigning NFL MVP is well documented. His trajectory has also changed the way some Bills fans now approach the draft.
As those fans gear up for Thursday鈥檚 start of the 2025 NFL draft, some are more leveled in their hot takes, these days. Others relish the chance to have bold opinions once again.
鈥淏eing so completely wrong about Josh Allen has basically inoculated me from ever having a strong draft take ever again,鈥 Chuck Wolter posted on BlueSky.
Some fans were upset in 2018 when the Bills chose Josh Allen, left, with their No. 1 pick instead of UCLA鈥檚 Josh Rosen.
鈥楢re you serious?鈥
A large portion of Bills fans were hoping the team would select Josh Rosen out of UCLA.
Hearing that it was a 鈥淛osh鈥 gave a split second of hope, before the ensuing 鈥淎llen鈥 call changed everything.
鈥淚 remember, just because it鈥檚 like, 鈥楯osh Blank,鈥 and then it just fell apart,鈥 Adam Ritter said. 鈥淚t was like, 鈥極h my gosh. ... This just set us back, I guess, like years.鈥 鈥
Like Ferguson, Ritter has a reaction video, where he is watching the draft with a few other friends out in Denver. Ritter stands behind a couch, waiting. Then, the Allen pick
鈥淎re you (bleeping) kidding me?鈥 Ritter screams, his hands pounding the couch. 鈥淎re you serious?鈥
Expletives were hurled by Bills fans in all pockets of the country.
鈥淚 screamed, cursed, threw my remote at the TV, and unleashed hell on Twitter,鈥 said Erica Colby, who watched the draft in Connecticut. 鈥淚 have since seen the error of my ways (both with precious king Josh and [with posting on Twitter]).鈥
Lou Brunson took his opinion to Facebook, typing furiously for 30 to 40 minutes straight.
鈥淚 looked like 鈥楤ruce Almighty鈥 answering emails,鈥 Brunson said. 鈥淚t was just my keyboard smoking, like, just a whole 9 yards. I don鈥檛 know if I was mad, if I was just disappointed. I was just shocked, but not surprised. It was just all of those. It was all of them wrapped up into one and just rolling in waves over me, and then getting to the beginning and starting again.
鈥淚t really just felt like, 鈥極h, great. Here we go, again. I鈥檝e done this already with Rob Johnson, with J.P. Losman, with just over and over again. It鈥檚 the same guy.鈥 鈥
Brunson unleashed a 1,286-word post on Facebook, one he revisits every year.
鈥淲hat the Bills are demonstrating is bad process,鈥 he wrote that night. 鈥淩epeatedly. This is infuriating to me as a Bills fan. I have been here long before this iteration of the front office, and this series of moves has me convinced I will be here long after they are gone as well. 鈥
鈥淭he fan in me hope it works, the analyst in me is desperate for it not to,鈥 Brunson continued. 鈥淏ad bets shouldn鈥檛 be rewarded, it creates bad habits.鈥
Thrilled to be wrong
Allen, of course, is one of the best quarterbacks in the league.
Every year when Brunson gets a Facebook memory to re-up his post, he is thrilled to see how far off his take was.
鈥淚 love it so much, so much,鈥 Brunson said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 run from my L鈥檚. Yeah, I鈥檝e never been so thrilled to have been so wrong.
鈥淎 buddy of mine and I, we say every year, I can鈥檛 believe that we get to root for this guy. It鈥檚 like we pinch ourselves.鈥
Jay Bernardone was watching at a draft party where the Hayburners were flowing. He also let out a loud boo at the pick, but he doesn鈥檛 regret it.
鈥淚鈥檒l never be embarrassed about it, because it came from grief, following people with great analysis. And it came from facts going on in college,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 mean, obviously, it鈥檚 not a perfect science.鈥
Bernardone is from the camp that still has strong draft takes, because he loves having opinions on the teams he follows. He also recognizes that Allen鈥檚 turnaround is quite unusual.
鈥淚n my eyes, Allen is making the biggest career turnaround, basically, in the history of sports,鈥 he said. 鈥 ... That鈥檚 one of the main reasons he is a unicorn.鈥
Watching the draft has changed for Bills fans for other reasons. With the Bills playing longer and drafting later, the later selection has some fans less invested in mock drafts. This year, the Bills pick 30th, overall.
鈥淭here was a long, long time where draft prep started around late October, so genuinely, that became one of my most watched and anticipated parts of the football year,鈥 Brunson said.
Either way, for fans that were adamantly against Allen at the time, it is typically a funny time to revisit those posts, videos and feelings.
鈥淧eople bring it up a decent amount,鈥 Ritter said of his video. 鈥淚 have Bills tattoos, like, I am a pretty die-hard Buffalo Bills (fan). And so, people love to bring it up anytime, because now, if you walk into my house, like, you immediately know 鈥 how much I love Josh Allen is a complete flip.鈥
鈥淚鈥檓 glad that video exists, actually,鈥 Ferguson said. 鈥淥n that level, I鈥檓 glad I have that hot take. I鈥檓 glad I had that moment, because it鈥檚 funny and it鈥檚 fun, and as long as people don鈥檛 take themselves too seriously, go out and have fun with it.鈥
