Zach

Allen

Allen (6’4/279) was a two-year starter on the Eagles’ front, graduating with 40.5 career tackles for loss, 18.5 sacks, and 16 pass breakups and earning second-team All-ACC as a senior. PFF College gave Allen its highest cumulative grade among all ACC edge defenders last season, leading the conference in run stops (29) at his position while his pass rush took a big step forward. An above-par 54th-percentile SPARQ athlete but not an explosive outside rusher, Allen best projects as a high-intensity early-down end who kicks inside against the pass a la Broncos DE Derek Wolfe.

“Teams looking for a high-character, high-effort defender with versatile traits will like Allen’s game in the middle rounds of the draft,” Miller writes. Speaking to the versatility point, the 6-foot-4, 281-pound Allen has experience at both defensive tackle and end, always a nice little kicker for draft purposes. At the combine, his testing run gave him a SPARQ score landing him in the 84th percentile of NFL defensive linemen.

“Allen’s toughness and ability to diagnose quickly could allow him to play early as a run defender, but limitations as a rusher could push him inside on passing downs,” Zierlein writes, adding that the 6-foot-4, 281-pound Allen has “average starter’s potential.” He helped himself at the NFL Scouting Combine, with his composite SPARQ score landing him in the 84th percentile of NFL defensive linemen. Draft Analyst’s Tony Pauline is about as high as any analyst on Allen, currently hitting him up with a Round 1/Round 2 grade. Pauline had Allen going off the board at pick No. 50 (to the Vikings) in his final pre-combine mock draft.

Allen (6'4/281) was viewed by Kyle Crabbs of The Draft Network as one of the players who hurt their stock at the Reese’s Senior Bowl in late January. But the former Boston College DE managed to put up some solid testing numbers Sunday, ranking among the better prospects at his position in the vertical jump (32.0 inches), 3-cone drill (7.34s) and 20-yard shuttle (4.36s). Allen’s effort level is viewed as a positive, but there have been questions about his athletic flexibility.

Allen (6'5/272) has been a stalwart for the Eagles since enrolling at the school. He considered entering the draft as a junior, but he came back and helped Boston College to one of their best seasons in years, and he showed the ability to rush the passer and help in the run game as well. He’ll be a player that has lots of eyes on him when he heads to Mobile in January.

Allen gets the “tweener” designation; if you’re a glass half full person, he offers versatility, if it’s half empty you question whether the 6-foot-5, 272-pound defender can play defensive end or defensive tackle. “Allen has true tweener traits between playing on the edge or interior, but also has limitations in either spot,” writes Marino. “I am not confident he can consistently win around the outside hip of offensive tackles and he lacks the frame of a true interior defender.” Allen will be an intriguing third-down player either way, but if he’s going to be a three-down player, he needs to show he can play one of the two.

Allen came into the event as one of the more hyped defenders in the class, and he measured in at 6-foot-4, 280-pounds with 34 1/2 inch arms. Unfortunately, the practices didn’t go as well, in Wuench’s eyes. He notes that the Raiders asked him to rush from the inside and he “leaned on his power rush with limited success.” As he summarizes: “One week doesn’t define a player who finished his career with 40.5 tackles for loss and 18.5 sacks, but teams are likely to take a closer look at [Allen’s] tape following his performance.”

Allen has shown flashes of brilliance in 2018 for the Eagles, but a big showing against Clemson and their quality offensive line would do wonders for his draft stock to Serritella. He notes the 6-foot-5, 272-pound defender “can rush the quarterback when lined up on the edge,” and that he isn’t a one-trick pony in terms of pass-rush moves. " The Connecticut native takes great pride in his technique, demonstrates a high motor, is relentless in pursuit and possesses excellent athleticism for his size,” writes Serritella. We’re excited to see how he handles the spotlight.

Allen had a breakout game on Saturday against Temple. He registered two sacks, two pass breakups, and a forced fumble against the Owls. The 6-foot-5, 272-pound defender has long intrigued as a pass-rusher, but there have been consistency issues for the senior. " His build looks more like an interior player, but although he’s not a great athlete, Allen still shows the ability to rip under contact and run the arc as an edge rusher,” writes Ledyard. “He’s an extremely intriguing prospect who is already getting first round buzz.”

“I promise you. He is an elite player. That’ll be a mistake if you turn him into a single block,” Addazio said. This past season, the 6-foot-5, 272-pound Allen registered 36 tackles (10.0 for loss), six sacks and four passes defended. Allen has played in 25 games during his first two seasons with the Eagles, including one start to date.