Jaguars Film Room: Josh Allen causes Miami offense to flounder

Rookie defensive chess piece Josh Allen, the seventh overall pick in the 2019 draft, showed flashes during the Jaguar's 22-7 loss to the Dolphins to indicate the six teams who passed on him may end up regretting it sooner than later. After a handful of series alongside the rest of the starting defense, Allen finished his night with four tackles, two tackles for loss and two QB hits.

But while Allen's impressive production in less than one half of football says a lot, the plays that did not show up in the stat sheet were just as impactful. He provided constant pressure off of the edge and was moved all around the field by defensive coordinator Todd Wash, giving him multiple chances to make an impact.

Allen's first impact play came on the defense's second series. The Dolphins tried to run a stretch play to Allen's side, but initially left Allen unblocked. This left the motioned tight end to come back and attempt to block him, but Allen took advantage of the sliver of space and used his speed to get a huge tackle for loss.

Allen showed up as a pass rusher as well. On one play, he directly caused a Dawuane Smoot sack because his pressure on Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick forced the passer to step up into Smoot's grasp. One the play below, defensive end Yannick Ngakoue and Allen performed a stunt, which again gave Allen enough space to use his speed to close on the ball carrier.

Finally, Allen showed off some of the versatility that he was known for at the University of Kentucky as Wash stood him up on the edge and had him drop into coverage on plays.

On one play, Allen seamlessly dropped back between a corner and receiver without disrupting the defender. Allen diagnosed the play immediately and closed on the running back the second he caught the ball for a loss. The fact that a 275-pound pass rusher can move this smoothly in space is wild.

Of course, context for Allen's performance is needed. It was a preseason game vs mostly backup linemen. But he still flashed exactly the way you want a top 10 pick to flash, and he is just scratching the surface.

Allen has not yet taken a regular season snap in his career, but he has looked like a natural at every opportunity presented to him so far. If Allen can provide the kind of impact in the regular season that he did in week 1, the Jaguars defense will have the potential to be dominant.

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