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Los Angeles Rams QB Brandon Allen was originally drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 6th round of the 2016 NFL Draft. He spent that season as the third string quarterback behind QB Blake Bortles and QB Chad Henne, but he was waived in the roster cuts heading into 2017 and the the Rams grabbed him the following day. Allen would once again spend the season as the QB3 this time behind QB Jared Goff and QB Sean Mannion. He didn’t take a regular season snap having been placed on injured reserve with a back injury prior to the Week 17 game against the San Francisco 49ers where he likely would have seen some game time.
Allen may not have seen any regular season snaps, but he was with the Rams for the culture shift and learning environment fostered by Head Coach Sean McVay. He’s shown promise during his early career, but hasn’t been consistent enough to wrestle a #2 spot away. This third season is going to be big in determining if he has a chance of moving up the QB totem pole or if he’ll spend his career as a fringe roster quarterback.
Roster Battle
Since 2015, the Rams have seen three different quarterbacks assume the starting Job, but backing each one of those up has been Mannion an oft-mentioned fan favorite in 2016 (see #freemannion) and the former pick of HOFer and Ram Vice President of Business Development Eric Dickerson to start. The chances of a legitimate roster battle for the backup spot are slim but not impossible.
Having only kept two quarterbacks on the active roster with P Johnny Hekker acting as the unofficial official #3 in case of severe emergency, the likeliest scenario is that Allen will be competing for a QB3 spot with rookie QB Luis Perez who the Rams picked up as an undrafted free agent. Allen might have a slight advantage since he’s seen some preseason snaps and spent last season with the team, but there’s no telling how far that will carry him.
Expectations
Expect Allen to play in all four preseason games. Allen could possibly usurp Mannion for the number two spot. He showed that much explosiveness in his preseason games for the Jags. Consistency is key if he’s going to beat out Mannion and Perez who was extremely successful at the D-II level.
Chances of making the final roster (4/10)
If he can beat out Perez, he has a strong chance of making Mannion expendable.