Bills QB Josh Allen utilizes 3D tech to perfect throwing mechanics after injury
Josh Allen is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, but behind his most recent otherworldly numbers has been a lingering problem. Injuries to his shoulder have caused him to alter his throwing motion, and he believes it affected his 2023-24 season.
That is why, for 2024-25, he has turned to technology to better understand his craft.
During the Buffalo Bills' mandatory minicamp this week, the two-time Pro Bowler explained how he had been using a 3D motion capture system from Biometrek, a developed sports technology company founded and owned by former Kansas State Wildcats long snapper Chris Hess:
“It is digitally mapping our throwing motions and just seeing what we can tighten up on and improve on and just having that in the back of our mind. If you can deliver the ball as consistently as possible, it takes less to think about and then you can focus more on what the defense is presenting.
"So, yeah, just trying to be as efficient as possible with my throwing motion.”
The partnership between the two dates to 2020, when they met at the behest of former quarterback and current coach and executive Jordan Palmer (younger brother of three-time Pro Bowler Carson Palmer).
The use of such technology proved fruitful. That season, Allen made his first Pro Bowl and only All-Pro team and led the Bills to the AFC Championship Game, their first since the days of Jim Kelly.
Josh Allen explains the injuries that have affected his throwing
So, how does Josh Allen describe the injuries that have caused him to throw the football differently? He described the process of analyzing it as follows:
“Going back to last year, obviously, a couple little tweaks whether it was in the shoulder, the elbow, whatever it was, it changes how you throw it just a little bit because your body is shielding itself from pain.
“You could kind of see (in the video) I was getting pretty low and wide with the ball.”
But the mechanics are still better than when he was still a student:
"I mean, it’s night and day in terms of the type of thrower I am and where I held the ball, where I released the ball. Looks like a different guy."
Bills preseason practice begins on July 23.