'Fan Boy': Bills QB Josh Allen on 'Most Gifted' Idol Aaron Rodgers

In this story:
It is fair to say that when it comes to having grown up watching football, Josh Allen was like most of us, a "fan boy.'' And it's kind of cool that in many ways, the Buffalo Bills standout QB still is.
"Having (worn) Aaron Rodgers jerseys (as a kid) and trying to emulate what he does on the football field,'' Allen said on the Slow News Day podcast, reflecting back. "He’s such a special player.''
Indeed, Rodgers - the four-time NFL MVP - has been all of that, part of the beefing-up of quarterback play in the AFC East. where Allen and Tua Tagovailoa are being joined by arguably the greatest of all-time in Rodgers, traded this offseason from Green Bay to the New York Jets. (New England's Mac Jones has his critics but he has to his credit a playoff appearance and Pro Bowl as he enters his third season.)
The Jets have been searching for years for a real answer at quarterback. Rodgers turns 40 this December, and there were times last year with the Packers when he was less than stellar. But legitimacy at that QB spot in New York? A chance to ratchet up the intensity of the rivalries in the AFC East, especially when it comes to Jets vs. Bills? That's inarguable.
"I think he’s the most gifted thrower of the football of all time,'' Allen said of Rodgers, with whom he has a friendly off-field relationship.
We will get to see all of this unfold - starring our first look at Rodgers in a Jets uniform in a real game - when the Jets play host to Allen and the Bills in the Monday Night Football opener.
"To now be going up against him twice a year,'' Allen said, "it’s going to be a battle.”
Thanks for reading our SI-powered coverage of your Buffalo Bills ... Bills Mafia!
You're a member of Bills Mafia hungry for more Buffalo coverage? Read here.

Mike Fisher - as a newspaper beat writer and columnist and on radio and TV, where he is an Emmy winner - has covered the NFL since 1983. He is the author of two best-selling books on the NFL.