Josh Allen
#1 Outside Linebacker by Football Addicts
Born: July 13th, 1997 (21 years old)
Height: 6’5
Weight: 260 Lbs
Position: Outside Linebacker
University: Kentucky
About Josh
Josh Allen is the cinderella story of the 2019 NFL Draft. Coming from a 2 star prospect all the way to a potential 1st round pick in the NFL Draft; Allen chose to stay for his senior season at Kentucky to push for an SEC West title. Though falling short of their goal, Kentucky still came in 2nd place with a 10-3 record. Allen wreaked havoc on the field, delivering 17 sacks (4th in the nation), 5 forced fumbles, and 88 total tackles in 2018. Those efforts would earn Josh the 2018 Bednarik Award, and the 2018 Nagurski Award for best defensive player in college football respectively. Every year has been a better one for Allen, and looks to continue that trend at the next level.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
First off, Josh Allen has shown to be a great leader which is something you don’t get to watch on film. He is someone willing to learn and grow as an athlete, very coachable. He has the prototypical size of an NFL OLB, and possesses a very quick first step. One of the best pass rushers in the draft, always looking for the quarterback and looking for the ball.
Weaknesses
Allen needs to work on becoming a better coverage linebacker. Wasn’t asked to do too much in coverage, just covering simple zones. In some of his game tape you can find Allen being locked on by his blocker, and struggle to break loose of the defender more often than you would want in a 1st round talent.
NFL Draft Projection/NFL Comp
NFL Draft Projection
Josh Allen’s draft stock has been a roller coaster ride, and could face even more ups and downs coming into the combine. I have seen him slotted in the 2nd overall pick, all the way to the Vikings at 18th. The combine could hurt him considering their are a lot of freaks in this draft class that will break the combine, but he shouldn’t fall out of the Top 15. I personally don’t see him slipping past the Packers with the 12th overall pick. Green Bay is looking to move on from Clay Matthews, and has another 1st round pick later on, making it hard not to pull the trigger on a talent like Allen.
NFL Comparison
Allen projects to be a 3-4 outside linebacker at the next level, and will be used heavily when looking to rush the quarterback. I have seen a lot of comparison’s to Leonard Floyd from Georgia, but I believe Anthony Barr would be a better comparison. Allen doesn’t have as much athleticism as Floyd did in 2016, and people would compare Floyd to a “More athletic” Anthony Barr, so doesn’t this just fit right? Barr measured at the combine 6’5 255 Lbs, a lot closer to the size of Allen now, and ran a 4.66 40 yard dash time. They not only share similar size and speed, but both can play in either 3-4, or 4-3 defensive schemes, though work better as 3-4 linebackers.