After spending the first two years of his NFL career at the nose tackle position, Beau Allen will get a chance to move back to defensive tackle in a 4-3 system. This is not an earth-shaking revelation—but I am guessing Eagles fans are going to rediscover Beau Allen as a much more athletic football player than they originally imagined him to be.
Allen is not going to crash the starting rotation of Fletcher Cox and Bennie Logan. But when he is in the game, he’s going to get many more chances to get up field and create some chaos for opposing quarterbacks. With more freedom to operate up field, Allen could surprise us with impact plays we previously did not anticipate getting from him.
One of the obstacles to fans’ ability to imagine greater performance from Beau Allen has more to do with his body image than his actual athletic talent. My first impression of Beau when he was drafted by the Eagles was “oh, he looks like a slightly bigger version of Chris Farley…but hey, Chris Farley was a pretty good high school football player.”
Snubbed by the NFL Scouting Combine back in 2014…timed at 5.24 in the ’40 on average…The Sports Xchange gave Beau Allen a closer look back when he was picked by the Eagles in 2014: “Round 7/224 – Beau Allen, NT, 6-2, 333, Wisconsin…Allen doesn’t move very well, but he’s a big-body run-stuffer, which is something the Eagles don’t have. Their starting nose tackle, Bennie Logan is lighter and more athletic and can line up inside or outside. Allen is strictly a two-down nose tackle.”
“Consensus: Plays hard, gives effort. Durable big body with limited range. Needs to improve pass rush.”
Allen did have a pretty good showing at his Pro Day:
| Date: 03/05/14 Height: 6024 Weight: 333 40 Yrd Dash: 20 Yrd Dash: 10 Yrd Dash: |
225 Lb. Bench Reps: 30 Vertical Jump: 31 Broad Jump: 08’08” 20 Yrd Shuttle: 4.50 3-Cone Drill: 7.27 |
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| No full workout/Hamstring | |||
I like the solid depth Beau Allen brings to the defensive picture. I don’t cringe when he’s in the rotation, especially on run-stopping plays. I like his hustle and pursuit. I look forward to his expanded role as an up-field pressure guy in passing situations. I’m excited about the defensive tackles and defensive ends in this new Eagles defense.
| No. 94 Philadelphia Eagles | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Defensive tackle |
| Personal information | |
| Date of birth: | November 14, 1991 |
| Place of birth: | Eden Prairie, Minnesota |
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Weight: | 333 lb (151 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Minnetonka (MN) |
| College: | Wisconsin |
| NFL draft: | 2014 / Round: 7 / Pick: 224 |
| Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2015 | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|||||||||||
| TRAINING CAMP ROSTER: DEFENSIVE END | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Age | Exp. | Signed Through | 2015 Games Played (Started) |
| Connor Barwin | 29 | 8 | 2018 | 16 (16) |
| Bryan Braman | 29 | 6 | 2016 | 16 (0) |
| Vinny Curry | 28 | 5 | 2020 | 16 (0) |
| Brandon Graham | 28 | 7 | 2018 | 16 (10) |
| Alex McCalister | 22 | R | 2019 | Rookie |
| Steven Means | 25 | 2 | 2017 | 0 (0) |
| Marcus Smith | 24 | 3 | 2017 | 13 (0) |
| TRAINING CAMP ROSTER: DEFENSIVE TACKLE | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Age | Exp. | Signed Through | 2015 Games Played (Started) |
| Beau Allen | 24 | 3 | 2017 | 16 (2) |
| Fletcher Cox | 25 | 5 | 2022 | 16 (16) |
| Taylor Hart | 25 | 3 | 2017 | 14 (1) |
| Bennie Logan | 26 | 4 | 2016 | 14 (14) |
| Mike Martin | 25 | 5 | 2016 | 5 (0) |
| Aziz Shittu | 21 | R | 2018 | Rookie |
| Destiny Vaeao | 22 | R | 2018 | Rookie |
| Connor Wujciak | 23 | R | 2018 | Rookie |
- * * * * * * * * * * *
It’s a heat wave affecting much of the mid-Atlantic (and maybe where you live too right now), so here are a few more advance shots of Eagles Cheerleaders from their 2017 Swimsuit Calendar Shoot in Mexico which depict cooler circumstances—photos by Dom Savini of PE.com—
Diane is keeping cool…
Malia is keeping cool! Go Eagles!!
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