Finding Broncos: Scouting Georgia LB CJ Allen

Draft season is here. That means Finding Broncos is back. As per tradition, we're breaking down the coming class with individual scouting reports.

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Next up is Georgia's stand-out linebacker.

Background

Allen enrolled at Georgia and made an immediate impact on the field, largely due to his football IQ. While he didn’t start right away, he did end up starting as a true freshman after an injury opened the door, and Allen took the opportunity and ran with it.

Stats

Allen had 46 pressures when working as a blitzer over three years, with 18 missed tackles. He picked up 98 stops with two fumbles forced.

Allen allowed 68.4% of targets to be caught, with a 101.7 NFL rating, four touchdowns, one interception, and five passes broken up in his three years.

Pros

Allen undeniably has the football IQ to be the brains of the defense as the ‘green dot’ player calling plays for the unit and making sure defenders get lined up. He is quick to fire against the run, especially between the tackles, and can blow up blocks, disengage, and make a play.

Allen has great timing and anticipation, both as a run defender and as a blitzer, to catch blockers off guard and generate disruption. The tackling technique is solid, though his length isn’t ideal, and the missed tackles he does have aren’t because of improper technique. He also hits with a heavy force to knock most ball carriers off their feet.

When working sideline-to-sideline, Allen has the speed, burst, and awareness to stay in phase with blockers in the run game, see the screen develop, or catch backs out of the backfield. There is a quick closing ability to get to the ball carrier in a flash.

When going to make a tackle, Allen has good control and squares up before driving through the ball. When he's asked to be the stack 'backer, he uses leverage and strength to handle the block and create a lane for a teammate to make the tackle.

Cons

CJ Allen and Joey Aguilar — CJ Allen tackles Joey Aguilar. | Alan Poizner-Imagn Images

There is a severe lack of splash plays for Allen's traits, and his coverage play can be really concerning at the NFL level. His lack of length shows as a tackler, but it's an even bigger issue in coverage, and there isn’t room for error because he doesn’t have the length to disrupt lanes or make throwing windows tighter.

Allen's usage in coverage will be limited to short, shallow zones, and he may need a safety to cover for errors. Even with a high football IQ, there are more breaks with his coverage than you’d expect.

Allen may be best used as a stack 'backer between the tackles, but his block disengagement will need improvement to be more of a threat to make the play himself. He can also be a little passive as a tackler and when tacking on blocks, instead of triggering downhill to blow up blocks before they clear the lane.

Allen's anticipation is rough; he can lose his awareness when working outside with lead blockers, even miss climbing blockers, and get blindsided. He isn’t a loose player, and can’t be relied on to be a man cover 'backer, or to carry tight ends down the seam. Allen is an under-15-yard defender.

Fit With the Broncos

The Broncos brought Alex Singleton back, and Allen is a younger, more talented version (as a prospect). If Denver is still eyeing a replacement for Singleton while improving its depth in 2026, then Allen makes sense if he falls to 62 or is within range of a slight trade-up.

However, it seems unlikely Allen will fall far enough for the Broncos, as many project him as a first-rounder.

That said, over the past week, there has been a lot of negativity about Allen as a prospect, with his coverage issues coming to light. Some draft analysts are implying a drop is highly likely because of coverage issues and other concerns about him as a prospect.

Grade

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