Jaguars land pass-rusher Allen in 1st round

The Jacksonville Jaguars stopped Josh Allen's surprise slide in the first round of the NFL draft at pick No. 7.

The Jags selected the pass-rusher out of Kentucky to add to an already formidable defensive front seven. He'll complement the likes of Yannick Ngakoue, Calais Campbell, and Telvin Smith.

Allen was fourth in the country with 17 sacks in 2018 and added five forced fumbles and 56 solo tackles.

Prospect profile

School: Kentucky
Height: 6-5
Weight: 259 lbs

Strengths

• Incredible versatile, can play multiple positions in various schemes
• Experience dropping into zone coverage
• Extremely productive pass-rusher this past season
• Maintains top speed through rush
• Excellent gap penetrator
• Unstoppable bend/rip and chop moves
• Explosive off the line
• Rarely misses tackles, is always around the ball
• Great change-of-direction skills for size
• Very flexible with loose hips to get around the edge

Weaknesses

• Lacks pass-rush counters if first moves fail
• Average power at point of attack, some trouble sealing the edge
• Lacks bull-rush and speed-to-power moves
• Not a game-changing defender until final collegiate campaign

Bottom line

Allen exploded onto the scene in 2018, developing his game and soaring up draft boards in the process. The name of his game is versatility - he's a productive run defender and pass-rusher and can even play an Anthony Barr role as an outside linebacker in a 4-3 defense. Allen is a fluid athlete and a legitimate sack threat on every passing down. Despite just one year of elite production, he's one of the safer picks in this year's class.