The Jacksonville Jaguars select Josh Allen, DE, Kentucky

The Jacksonville Jaguars selected Kentucky pass rusher Josh Allen with the seventh pick in the NFL Draft.

Quick, tell me if you thought Josh Allen would be available when the Jacksonville Jaguars would make their first pick at No. 7. The pass rusher from Kentucky was there for the taking as the NFL Draft got a jolt when the Oakland Raiders took Clelin Ferrell of Clemson.

Now, the Jaguars have another pass rusher to add to their front four who can rush the passer. With Calais Campbell and Yannick Ngakoue already on the line, Allen adds another dimension of speed to the Jaguars pass rush.

The Jaguars came into the first round needing help most notably at right tackle and tight end, but also was thin at the defensive end position.

"Per Ryan Wilson of CBS Sports, “Josh Allen was one of the best players in college football in 2018. Instead of declaring for the draft after his junior season, he returned for his senior campaign, packed on 15 pounds of muscle, and was dominant from start to finish — literally; he had three sacks, three tackles for loss and blocked a field goal in Kentucky’s three-point Citrus Bowl win over Penn State.”"

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Listed at 6-foot-5 and 262 pounds, he was a certain top-five prospect with CBS Sports ranking as the third best overall prospect.

"“Has a quick first step — often first off the ball — to regularly beat offensive tackles — but can also beat them with power,” Wilson added. Can occasionally get engulfed by blockers but effectively uses hands to win more times than not. Also has the athleticism to drop into coverage, which he was asked to do in college.”"

At the Jaguars Pre-Draft Luncheon on Monday, both Tom Coughlin, the team’s executive vice-president of football operations and David Caldwell, Jacksonville’s general manager stated the team would take the best player available on the board. There had been talk the team may also look to trade out of the pick, especially if a quarterback was still on the board teams behind the franchise wanted.

The depth at defensive end is considered deep this year.

The Jaguars can now focus on added players at tight end and on the offensive line in the second and third round.

Predicting the Jaguars first pick. dark. Next

Allen, 21, was a captain for the Wildcats as a senior. He had a team-high 88 tackles, 17 quarterback sacks and 21.5 tackles for loss. He also added seven quarterback hurries, five forced fumbles and four pass breakups. He recovered two fumbles.

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