Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Devon Allen has made headlines recently because he qualified for the World Track Championship. He ran a 13.09 in the 110-meter hurdles on Sunday during the United States Track Championship. This is the perfect opportunity to give Allen recognition since he is not a player that the media talks about every day. Here’s a look at his college career, his attributes as a receiver, and his future with the Eagles.
Oregon
Allen excelled at Oregon in both pass catching and special teams. The former duck’s receiver had his best year as a freshmen. He had 684 yards and seven touchdowns on the year. Furthermore, Allen averaged 16.7 yards a reception.
Unfortunately, Allen suffered from injury setbacks throughout his time as a Duck. His first setback happened in 2015 during the College Football Playoff, where he tore his ACL. He returned during the 2015 college football season, but he didn’t get much playing time because of the injury. He had 94 yards that year on nine receptions. In 2016, Allen was ready to play his senior season with Oregon. He played in first three games but again suffered another ACL tear, which ended his season.
Allen’s attributes
Devon Allen freshmen year at Oregon really gave football fans a taste of what he was all about. He is an ultra-fast receiver, which makes sense because he also ran track at Oregon in college as well. He was a deep threat as he could outrun defenders to create separation. His speed also gave him the ability to catch short passes and gained a lot of yardage out of it because of is speed and his ability to elude defenders. Allen also had excellent hands as he was reliable with 41 total catches.
Another attribute that was mentioned very briefly in the previous paragraph was that Allen was also a kickoff returner at Oregon in 2014. Allen racked up over 200 yards in kickoff returns. Allen may not have a lot of size as he is 6-feet tall, but he has a lot of potential in special teams and as receiver in the NFL.
Allen’s potential
This is Allen’s first year in the NFL. He signed a three-year contract in April, which gives him plenty of time to make a name for himself. It is unlikely that we will see Allen on the field in 2022. He has not played a down of football since his injury in 2016, as he was focused on track after recovering. It is more likely that Allen will be on the practice squad this year to get use to football again and to grow as a player. However, anything is possible, if he has a good training camp and is impressive during the preseason then he could very well earn a roster spot.
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