Considering his position, quarterback Josh Allen being named a team captain for the Buffalo Bills ahead of the 2024 NFL season might be thought of as obvious.
Not so fast.
Allen’s teammates were quick to say it’s no gimmick. Allen, who was given that honor alongside linebacker Terrel Bernard, earned it according to a few Bills players on offense.
Top rookie draft pick Keon Coleman has only known Allen a few months. That’s all it took for the wide receiver to be convinced. Coleman even referred to his QB as “big brother” while speaking to reporters.
“He ain’t get named the captain, he earned that,” Coleman said. “He’s a very vocal guy, he leads by example, he leads by communicating.”
On the flip side of Coleman is offensive lineman Dion Dawkins. He has been teammates with Allen since 2018.
In a natural-Dion way, he called Allen a unique captain and a lot of it has nothing to do with football. Allen is not a guy that just leaves a relationship at the office, he’s willing to put in the work outside of it.
“Some people would leave the building, ‘Alright, I’ll see my team tomorrow,'” Dawkins said. “Josh is one of those guys that’s like, ‘Come over, let’s play pickleball, let me show you a magic trick.'”
A trademark Dawkins analogy, but he added that he was “serious” about all of it.
Dawkins’ full Allen breakdown can be found in the WROC-TV clip below:
Dion Dawkins said Josh Allen is the type of leader that "opens up his phone" to his teammates.
Here's what that means.
As always with Dion, a great explanation."This guy cares… it's a cool thing."#Bills pic.twitter.com/D3hH8D5Sqb
— Thad Brown (@thadbrown7) September 4, 2024