NFL Draft Prospects 2019: Edge Rusher - Josh Allen, Kentucky
This New Jersey native played three years of high school ball in Alabama and after spending his senior year in Jersey, he moved back South to Kentucky to play in the nation’s best conference. Allen spent most of his freshman season as a reserve before emerging in year two for the Wildcats. When he got seven sacks for a second consecutive year and recorded double-digit tackles for loss as a junior he had to make a decision on his NFL future.
Allen decided to return for his senior year, putting on 15 pounds and turning into a more well-rounded player, and the move paid off big-time, winning the Nagurski and Bednarik trophies as well as earning first-team All-American honors thanks to 21.5 TFLs, 17 sacks and five forced fumbles.
Allen has really good size for the edge at 6’5”, a little over 260 pounds. He doesn’t mind sticking his head into traffic and dropping his hips to take on guards while showing active hands to not let some tight-ends get into his frame, as well as shooting inside to create chaos in the backfield. If walled off initially, Allen can still make an impact on the play, going over the top of the blocker and being ready for potential cutbacks. He stays true to his responsibility on zone-read plays and if the ball is given, he can flatten and chase down the back from behind. He also has experience standing up and filling gaps from those actual linebacker spots either.
What stands out about Allen as a pass rusher is that blinding first step to create an instant advantage against his man, especially coming from a three-point stance. The Kentucky outside backer does an excellent job dipping under the reach of opposing tackles and running the arc at an angle. He has an outstanding chop or two-hand swipe to free his chest and really knows how to flatten to the quarterback.
Something Allen likes to do is give little head fakes to freeze the feet of his tackle and then beat him either direction. He also has the quickness to get through almost untouched on stunts when the O-line isn’t quick enough to recognize it. He hunts quarterbacks with a relentless motor and doesn’t give up even if they run away from his side.
Allen might be the biggest athletic freak in the draft and his upside is off the charts, but he still already produced at an absurd rate already. He was Pro Football Focus’s number one ranked edge defender with the highest pass-rush productivity at the position, leading all SEC edge defenders with 57 total pressures rushing going after the QB on less than 250 snaps. Allen absolutely terrorized the South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Missouri offensive lines last season.
Unlike Nick Bosa, who is rated slightly more than Allen, the former Kentucky standout brings a ton of versatility to the table. He can stand up and play linebacker to cover hook or flat areas and take away passing lanes.
One of my favorite plays of his came when he was lined up over a slot receiver in the Florida game and just went right through him to blow up a bubble screen. He had another highly impressive snap in that game when he stepped up for his rush initially, but then pivoted back to run with a wing-man stride for stride along the sideline, which led to an incompletion and he broke up another pass on a two-point conversion attempt, before sealing the game with a strip-sack.
However, he is at his best at getting after the quarterback. Penn State put so much attention on Allen and no not only did that open up opportunities for his teammates, Allen also got home for three sacks, plus he added a blocked kick in his final collegiate game.
Allen definitely allows an initial bump as a run defender on the edge and doesn’t consistently play with full extension. He will also get too far upfield at times and open up a large gap that way. Allen doesn’t utilize a broad arsenal of pass-rush moves at this point, winning with speed and bend combined with some type of swipe for the most part. He doesn’t really have any reliable counters at this point and rarely wins with secondary moves. There were several times when tackles over-set on him and he simply didn’t take advantage of it.
This kid has the burst and bend needed to succeed at the next level as a full-time pass rusher while showing the mobility and change of direction to grow in coverage. The highly gifted prospect became a different player in 2018 and already gave a hint of what he is capable of developing into while being one of the most productive players in the entire country. I think with more work on his pass-rush moves and a go-to counter he could be deadly at the next level.
Grade: Top five