Jacksonville Jaguars rookie Josh Allen is a little banged up, but don't panic, it doesn't appear to be serious. The first round pick is being held out of Thursday's practice with a knee contusion, per John Oehser of the team's official site.
Jaguars coach Doug Marrone clarified that it wasn't anything to worry about, saying “he'll be fine” and that there's “zero” concern about the injury within the building. Obviously, Allen will be disappointed he can't be out there picking up the playbook, but this doesn't seem to be anything that will jeopardize his status moving forward.
Allen was never supposed to make it to the Jaguars in last month's draft, but he slipped a little bit. Widely expected to go within the top four picks, the Raiders' drafting of Clelin Ferrell at four threw everything off. The Jaguars weren't planning on drafting Allen, but then he fell right into their laps with the seventh overall pick.
Allen became a star at Kentucky last season, bursting onto the scene in a big way. After a relatively nondescript first three years with the Wildcats, he erupted for 21.5 tackles for loss and 17 sacks, adding five forced fumbled. He won the Chuck Bednarik award last season, given annually to the nation's top defensive player, and was named a unanimous All-American.
He also picked up unanimous first-team All-SEC and SEC Defensive Player of the Year notices for his work. Allen will be joining an already strong pass-rushing group in Jacksonville. Rather than going with need, the Jags opted for the best player available. Allen will provide a scary level of depth to Jacksonville's defensive line core, and the unit will be very dangerous in 2019 and beyond.
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