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Kentucky’s Josh Allen has been raking in awards this week: Bronko Nagurski Trophy, SEC Defensive Player of the Year, Pro Football Focus All-American. The best defensive player in the country has been getting buzz as a potential top 5 pick for a while, but multiple outlets now predict he will land in the top 3.
Of course, some of the NFL Draft order will be determined by team need. So as the NFL season winds down, things could definitely change. But especially after winning the Bronco Nagurski Trophy, which is for the top defensive player in the nation, somehow the meteoric rise of Josh Allen’s stock continues to rise.
CBS Sports predicts that the San Francisco 49ers will end up with the 3rd overall pick in the draft this spring, and writer Chris Trapasso thinks they may take a flyer on Allen.
“This is probably the earliest you’re going to see Allen mocked, but if he lights up the combine, it’s not impossible,” Trapasso wrote. “He’s the most versatile edge-rusher in the class and has serious bend/dip to the quarterback. The 49ers have to add to their outside pass-rush.”
247 Sports agrees, at least with Allen’s draft position. Although they predict he will be selected at No. 3 to the New York Jets.
“There is not a single player in college football that has improved more than Kentucky outside linebacker Josh Allen,” 247 Sports’ Josh Edwards wrote. “He was recently recognized as the nation’s top defensive player with the Nagurski Award. He is also the only defensive player to be nominated with four quarterbacks for the Walter Camp Award. He is an excellent pass rusher, good in coverage but an even better person. The New York Jets selected defensive tackle DeWayne Robertson out of Kentucky with the No. 4 overall selection in the 2003 NFL Draft but that did not pan out. Allen will. He has recorded 84 tackles, 14 sacks and five forced fumbles this season.”
Going into the season, Allen was trying to secure a selection in the first round. It seems like he gains momentum with each passing week and apparently is still on the rise.
Could the former two-star prospect become a top 2 pick?