Joshua Patrick Allen (born May 21, 1996) is an American professional football quarterback for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). A lightly regarded high school prospect, Allen began his college football career with the Reedley Tigers before transferring to the Wyoming Cowboys. He was selected seventh overall by the Bills in the 2018 NFL draft.

Allen had a breakout season in 2020 when he led the Bills to their first division title and playoff victory since 1995 en route to an AFC Championship Game appearance. As the team's starting quarterback, he has led Buffalo to a total of seven playoff appearances, five consecutive division titles, and two conference championship game berths. He was named NFL Most Valuable Player in 2024 and has also received four Pro Bowl and two second-team All-Pro selections. Allen is regarded as one of the greatest dual-threat quarterbacks of all time.

Allen grew up on a 3,000-acre (1,200 ha) cotton farm near Firebaugh, California, a small town about 40 miles (64 km) west of Fresno. His family has lived in the Firebaugh area since his great-grandfather Arvid Allen, a Swedish immigrant, settled there during the Great Depression. The farm where he was raised was established in 1975 by his paternal grandfather, who was also a longtime member of the local school board and namesake of the gymnasium of Firebaugh High School, from which Allen graduated in 2014.

Growing up as a Fresno State fan who regularly attended both games and football camps, Allen tried to draw the interest of the program's coaching staff; his father tried to sell the Bulldogs' head coach at the time, Tim DeRuyter, on him, but DeRuyter chose not to offer a scholarship. DeRuyter was not alone in this assessment; Allen received no scholarship offers from any NCAA Division I program—whether in the top-level FBS or second-tier FCS. San Diego State made him an offer to walk on, but Allen turned it down because Aztecs coach Rocky Long could not guarantee any playing time. In a 2017 story on Allen, ESPN journalist Mark Schlabach speculated on why Allen got so little interest out of high school:

At the time, Josh was about 6-foot-3 and 180 pounds. He hadn't attended the elite quarterback camps and wasn't a widely known prospect. His high school team didn't participate in many 7-on-7 camps because Josh and many of his teammates were busy playing baseball and other sports. He was the leading scorer on his basketball team and also pitched on the baseball team, reaching 90 mph with his fastball.

Yahoo Sports writer Jeff Eisenberg added in another 2017 story:

At a time when many scholarship-hungry families encourage their kids to specialize in one sport or to transfer to the school that will provide the most exposure, the Allens resisted both trends. They spurned overtures from more prominent Central Valley programs after Allen's breakout junior season and kept him at Firebaugh, living by the family mantra that "you bloom where you're planted."

Through high school, Allen regularly worked on the family farm and at the restaurant his mother operated in Firebaugh. Allen was a member of the National FFA Organization through his local chapter at Firebaugh High School. He received numerous awards for his agricultural work and knowledge including a rank in the top four in the nation in diversified crop production of cantaloupe, cotton, and wheat in 2014.