Talking Braelon Allen

Edition #628

Good morning! ☕

We’re really about to get into the NFL doldrums with June being one of the quietest months in the calendar. We do however have the NFL schedule to look forward to this week, and for me that means waiting to see if the Jets are heading to London. If they are, are they coming to Tottenham stadium (where I have NFL season tickets) or are they coming to Wembley? Which means I’ll have to battle it out for tickets. But this quiet period also gives us an opportunity to really reflect on some of the draft picks and UDFA’s heading to camp.

🟢 A lot of people have already written off 2023 5th-round pick Israel Abanikanda following the Jets drafting of two running backs. But Antwan Staley of the NY Daily News believes the Jets are still high on the former Pitt standout: "I believe the Jets are still high on Abanikanda," Staley said. "Fans must remember that he is still 21 years old ... There's a world where the Jets keep four running backs on the roster...However, Abanikanda will have to fight for touches and his place in the running back pecking order during training camp."

⚪ PFF outlined one UDFA to watch on each NFL roster and for the Jets they highlighted Leonard Taylor III - “Taylor III was one of the top undrafted free agents on the board and joins an already stacked Jets’ defensive line, making opportunities a little harder to come by. However, his 82.3 pass-rush grade and 64.4 run-defense grade tell the story of an interior defender who can do a little bit of everything.” 

🟢 Former Jets defensive end Bradlee Anae signed a free agent deal with the Atlanta Falcons. Anae has been with the Jets for the last two years but hasn’t played a single defensive snap. So he’ll be hoping that changes with the Falcons down in Atlanta.

⚪ Pro Football Network released their way-to-early 2025 mock draft this weekend and they had the Jets taking Michigan TE Colston Loveland with the 23rd pick in the draft: “Colston Loveland’s numbers will likely drop with J.J. McCarthy off to the NFL, but he has put enough on film to warrant a Round 1 pick. Loveland is a height/weight/speed threat as a receiver, often lining up in the slot and taking advantage of smaller slot defenders and slower linebackers.”

Braelon Allen only just turned 20 years old, and he’s already looking to make his mark in the NFL with the Jets this coming season.

In three years in Wisconsin Allen racked up an impressive resume. 597 carries for 3494 yards and 35 touchdowns. That equals out to 5.9 yards per carry.

One look at Allen and you’ll see what kind of runner he is. At 6’1 and 235lbs he’s a dominant and physical back who racks up the yardage after the catch. Since 2021 no back in the Power 5 has more yards after contact than Allen’s 2,182. His145 missed tackles forced since 2021 also ranks 6th among Power Five RBs.

Most scouting reports will point to his 2021 and 2022 seasons as marquee moments in his college career, and most will say that he didn’t look as decisive or impressive in 2023.

Lace Zierlein’s scouting report says just that “Evaluators will need to rely more heavily on his 2022 tape, where he ran with better decisiveness and instincts”

For the Jets, that’s absolutely fine.

In 2021 and 2022 Allen was running in a pro-style system with pro-reads and concepts. The Jets will run a system similar to the one he saw while at Wisconsin during his first two years.

In 2023 the Badgers brought in Phil Longo from North Carolina, who operated an up-tempo air-raid type offence, and the entire offence struggled to adjust from the system operated by Paul Chryst, who was fired and landed in Texas as an offensive analyst and special assistant to Steve Sarkisian.

Texas finished last season with a top-10 offence and a trip to the college football playoffs. The Badgers were left wondering what went wrong as they averaged 22.8 points per game, their lowest mark in 19 years. Wisconsin ranked 58th in rushing offence, 97th in yards per play, 117th in passing efficiency and 101st in scoring.

Braelon Allen was actually a very bright spot for the Badgers in a disappointing year. He averaged 5.4 yards per carry which is exactly the same as 2022, and he rushed for 12 touchdowns, one more than 2022. He caught more passes (28) for more yards (132). So despite the team-wide confusion with the new concepts incorporated by Phil Longo, Allen was still a highly productive outlet for an offence that couldn’t get out of its own way.

682 of his yards came after contact which is 3.77 yards after contact per attempt with 49 missed tackles including 24 runs that went for 10+ yards.

Those 2023 numbers eclipsed those of 2022 where he had 671 yards after contact, 2.92 yards after contact per attempt and 51 missed tackles. Considering he had significantly less carries in 2023, those are very interesting numbers.

In 2022 no college RB had more yards against 8+ man boxes than Allen, who generated 363 yards against such looks. That’s pretty remarkable but not overly surprising. His pure physicality is dominant in the college ranks and it’ll be interesting to see if that’s maintained in the NFL. Its also important to note that he’s not hit his physical peak yet considering his age, and that’s a scary proposition for NFL defences to have to deal with Breece Hall for 75% of the game and then have someone like Allen come in.

Allen was also used as the primary pass-blocking back at Wisconsin having more pass-block snaps than any other RB over the last two years. The results were mixed, although he didn’t give up a sack in 2023 on 90 pass-block snaps, he did allow 15 pressures according to PFF.

This entire piece has been based around his power and physicality, but I think it’s a mistake to assume that he’s a one-trick pony.

He won’t blow you away with his speed, but he does have vision and the feet to make people miss in the open field and enough speed to get the edge. The run above shows his ability to cut jump and move horizontally as well as his finishing potential.

Wisconsin has a very proud history of producing NFL calibre running backs like Jonathan Taylor and Melvin Gordon, let’s hope we’ve got another one on our hands here, he certainly has a ton of potential.