In the shadows of Nick Bosa, Jacksonville Jaguars pass rusher Josh Allen had a rookie season that deserved a lot more attention.
There are many reasons why Josh Allen has been overlooked since coming into the NFL. None of them are remotely fair.
For one, the need to immediately clarify which Josh Allen is the first problem. The dynamic young pass rusher for the Jacksonville Jaguars—the subject of this column—sharing the same name as the Buffalo Bills starting quarterback is always going to keep the defensive version in a shadow. Quarterbacks are the bigger talking point, for better or worse, so it might do Allen some good to consider going by Joshua, at least.
Allen was also not a very popular or well-known college football player entering the NFL. Sure, he ascended draft boards quickly with an incredible final season (21.5 sacks) at the University of Kentucky, but even that says a lot, considering Kentucky football isn’t exactly the centerpiece of many conversations.
Upon being drafted seventh-overall in last April’s draft, Allen was sent to the public relations abyss known as Jacksonville. While the Jags went to the AFC Championship two years ago, they’re known more as London’s future franchise than anything else. That’s what happens when you’ve had four winning seasons since Y2K.
Unless you’re a throwback mustache on a late-round rookie quarterback, everything is quiet in Duval. D.J. Chark had a wonderful breakout campaign in 2019, but no one will talk about it. Leonard Fournette stayed healthy and enjoyed a nice comeback season, but again, silence is required.
All this to say: it’s not Josh Allen’s fault that no one is really talking about Josh Allen.
Five defensive players were taken in the first seven picks of the 2019 NFL Draft. The first such player, Nick Bosa, earned Defensive Rookie of the Year honors and the award was well deserved. From there, however, Allen should not have been passed over. The New York Jets took Quinnen Williams, the Oakland Raiders decided on Clelin Ferrell and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Devin White.
While all of those players might go on to fine NFL careers, none of them put up 10.5 sacks in his first NFL season. In fact, Bosa didn’t either. The only other rookie to match Allen with double digits was Maxx Crosby of the Raiders, perhaps the biggest steal of the draft, who had 10.
Here’s how rare it is for a rookie to have double digit sacks: Since 1982 when sacks were first recorded as an official statistic, only 35 players have reached 10 sacks or more in their first year. Last season only Bradley Chubb made the cut. Zero players could get there in 2017 and Joey Bosa did it in 2016. Before that, there were four straight draft classes without a single rookie pass rusher with 10 sacks.
While there are outliers like Kamerion Wimbley and Mark Anderson, the reality is nearly all of the names on that rookie with double-digit sacks list are the sorts of players who will have retired numbers at the end of their career. It’s Von Miller and Clay Matthews. It’s Ndamukong Suh and Peter Boulware. It’s Terrell Suggs and Julius Peppers, Jevon Kearse and Simeon Rice, Derrick Thomas and Charles Haley.
The book on Allen was that, outside of Bosa, he was the draft’s most pro-ready pass rusher. Very few scouts had doubts about his potential, and multiple mainstream draft analysts predicted him as a Pro Bowl performer at some point. For some reason, however, a few teams decided to bank on other defensive players in their front seven and lived to regret it.
He might not even be the most discussed Josh Allen in the NFL, but he’s definitely the most talented. The future is incredibly bright for Allen as one of the league’s best young pass rushers. Here’s hoping he receives the spotlight he deserves.
They say the numbers speak for themselves.
They might have to do a bit of shouting for Allen to rise above the noise given to others.