The Cincinnati Bengals will host Kentucky’s Josh Allen for a visit ahead of the 2019 NFL draft.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the interesting news.
Interesting, as Allen doesn’t figure to be available to the Bengals at No. 11 overall. He’s consistently been a top-five prospect throughout the process.
So it goes for a 6’5″, 262-pound edge defender who excels at rushing the passer but has already shown a refined ability to drop back into coverage.
Here’s what NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein had to say: “True hybrid linebacker with elite physical traits who has the ability to float between coverage and pass rush duties. Allen’s diverse skill-set could offer a creative defensive mind a fun toy to deploy around the field, but his NFL value will rest in his ability to menace the pocket as 3-4 rush linebacker.”
Allen is the sort of blue-chip prospect every coordinator would love to deploy in any scheme and is hard to misuse. But it’s clear from some of his other visits he’s going to come off the board in the top 10.
Of course, the NFL draft is the most unpredictable thing in sports. He’d be a huge win for the Bengals even if it meant moving up to get him, so the front office is clearly working the due diligence angle. Through their free-agent visits and links to prospects so far this offseason, it is quite clear the team wants to bolster the pass rush in the trenches, and perhaps early.
