Colts draft LB C.J. Allen - Round 2, Pick 53

[AlwaysSunnyinIndy]

https://x.com/RomeovilleKid/status/2047836480224051438

The Colts selected former Georgia LB CJ Allen with the No. 53 pick.

Fills an immediate need at LB after Indy traded one its starting LBs, Zaire Franklin, to the Packers this offseason.

https://x.com/JamesPalmerTV/status/2047836976741822596

The Colts had a major need at LB obviously.

C.J. Allen is the most true MIKE in the draft when I talked to NFL teams.

He isn't going to be moved around too much, but he certainly can pressure and he plays bigger than he is.

He is a UGA linebacker through and through.

https://x.com/ZachHicks2/status/2047836379074154795

My LB3 in this draft.

I absolutely love his game.

Flies to the football, outstanding speed.

Should have been a top 30-35 pick in my opinion.

Trade back and still land him? BEAUTIFUL

[AlwaysSunnyinIndy]

Here was the Ringer's scouting report. They had him ranked 48 on their Big Board.

https://theringer.com/nfl-draft/2026/big-board#content

Player comp: Shades of Devin White

Do-everything linebacker who brings an intimidating presence against the run and good range in coverage.

Allen is a versatile, rangy linebacker who plays with a high-intensity style against both the run and pass. A three-year contributor at Georgia, he’s a leader in the middle of the Bulldogs defense, helping establish the unit’s physical, tough identity. He has a well-built, muscular frame and shows the strength to take on blocks while bringing plenty of stopping power to stymie ballcarriers in the run game. Allen has good vision to sort through the mass of bodies and still keep his eyes on the target. He stays clean to avoid being blocked out of the play and is a reliable tackler with very good closing speed. He’s comfortable in space and shows a knack for positioning himself to get into passing lanes and disrupt throws. Allen flashes the athleticism to run step-for-step with tight ends on vertical routes in coverage and brings some pop when he closes on a pass catcher, laying hits to try to dislodge the pass. He’s an absolute pile driver as a blitzer, showing the ability to knock running backs into the pocket and into the quarterback’s lap.

Allen lacks top-tier agility and appears a little bit stiff at moments, especially in man-to-man coverage. He can lose a step to shiftier pass catchers. He occasionally allows himself to get blocked out of the play, and at times takes poor angles to the ball. He can be lured out of position by ball fakes.

[YDFL Commish]

LOL! I'll take a LB who struggles a little in man coverage vs our previous LB, who wasn't in the same zip code, when in zone coverage.

[Kray007]

Originally Posted by YDFL Commish

LOL! I'll take a LB who struggles a little in man coverage vs our previous LB, who wasn't in the same zip code, when in zone coverage.

A lot of people are freaking out over the fact that one analyst suggested that his closest comp is to Zaire Franklin. Frankly, I don’t get the pearl clutching. Zaire was a helluva player, he was a legit pro bowler.

To me, the place that the comparison to Franklin becomes tenuous is that Allen is just better. Better speed, better instincts, better nasty. He has a nose for the ball and makes plays in the hole. He’s smart, he’s a true field general, he diagnoses, gets everyone on the right page, and makes everyone around him just a little bit better.

He doesn’t excel in coverage, but you can scheme around that, especially if Jaylon Carlies recovers and plays up to the potential he showed in 2024.

To me, if I had to pick a comp, I’d go back to Mike Singletsry. Singletary didn’t have great coverage skills, but he excelled at diagnosing and being in thebright place.

[IndyNorm]

Originally Posted by Kray007

A lot of people are freaking out over the fact that one analyst suggested that his closest comp is to Zaire Franklin. Frankly, I don’t get the pearl clutching. Zaire was a helluva player, he was a legit pro bowler.

To me, the place that the comparison to Franklin becomes tenuous is that Allen is just better. Better speed, better instincts, better nasty. He has a nose for the ball and makes plays in the hole. He’s smart, he’s a true field general, he diagnoses, gets everyone on the right page, and makes everyone around him just a little bit better.

He doesn’t excel in coverage, but you can scheme around that, especially if Jaylon Carlies recovers and plays up to the potential he showed in 2024.

To me, if I had to pick a comp, I’d go back to Mike Singletsry. Singletary didn’t have great coverage skills, but he excelled at diagnosing and being in thebright place.

Not so sure about the Mike Singletary comp. If Allen ends up being 1/4 as good as that then we'll all be thrilled w/ the pick.

But agree that if Allen ends up being a better version of Franklin then it'll be a good pick. I think we forget how good Franklin was from 21-23 b/c his regression is forefront in our minds. Also, when Franklin wasn't coupled with a good coverage LB he was very much exposed since he was asked to do things he wasn't good at.

Although I do wish we had gone w/ Hill instead of Allen there as from what I've read Hill is that he' really good in coverage, and he made more high impact plays in his college career. But Hill was also the 5th LB drafted in the 2nd round, so we weren't the only ones who passed on him.

[Dam8610]

Originally Posted by Kray007

A lot of people are freaking out over the fact that one analyst suggested that his closest comp is to Zaire Franklin. Frankly, I don’t get the pearl clutching. Zaire was a helluva player, he was a legit pro bowler.

To me, the place that the comparison to Franklin becomes tenuous is that Allen is just better. Better speed, better instincts, better nasty. He has a nose for the ball and makes plays in the hole. He’s smart, he’s a true field general, he diagnoses, gets everyone on the right page, and makes everyone around him just a little bit better.

He doesn’t excel in coverage, but you can scheme around that, especially if Jaylon Carlies recovers and plays up to the potential he showed in 2024.

To me, if I had to pick a comp, I’d go back to Mike Singletsry. Singletary didn’t have great coverage skills, but he excelled at diagnosing and being in thebright place.

I hope you're right, but his coverage skills leave a lot to be desired from what I've seen.

[Dam8610]

So I went back and took another look at Allen, and his coverage skills are much better than Zaire Franklin's. I actually really like this pick now, think he could be a long term starter for the Colts.