CJ Allen isn't the problem. General manager Chris Ballard's long-term draft choices with the Indianapolis Colts are. Like any GM, Ballard believes he makes the right moves in any given draft, but his comments after choosing Allen in 2026 already look foolish because Allen was a healthy scratch in Indy's Week 1 beatdown at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens.
To be clear, the linebacker has only had the chance to play in one game, and he has lots of time to prove he was worth being Indy's first pick this year. The team's first-round choice was traded to the New York Jets last season to be able to acquire cornerback Sauce Gardner. Allen was chosen in the second round.
After choosing him, Ballard said, "We've liked CJ through the whole (draft) process. He stands for all the right stuff. He's an athletic, fast MIKE. He'll be a green-dot guy for us from the get-go. I mean, he's a face of the program type of guy. He's a really special dude now. Loves to play, serious about football."
Indianapolis Colts' Chris Ballard's post-draft words about CJ Allen were wrong
The "get-go" part is already wrong. Not only was Allen not tasked with being the green dot on defense in Week 1, but he didn't play a single down on either defense or special teams. He wasn't inactive before the game, but he might as well have been. The only two players on the active roster who didn't play were Anthony Richardson, the backup QB, and Allen.
Almost certainly, Ballard believed everything he said immediately after taking Allen in the 2026 NFL Draft, but that only brings his ability to pick players, especially in the second round, even further into question. The last time Ballard hit on a second-round choice was wide receiver Alec Pierce in 2022.
Maybe CJ Allen changes that narrative. It's only one game, after all, but Allen's chances of suddenly playing more in Week 2 and moving forward have diminished this week. That's because safety Cam Bynum was the green dot in Week 1 and, through no fault of Bynum's, the communication was awful defensively, causing delays in the defense lining up.
In Week 2, the green dot will be linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither, a player who spent many years under defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo when both were with the Cincinnati Bengals. ADG being the green dot means he will need to be on the field almost 100 percent of the time.
Only two inside linebackers are on the field most of the time, and Davis-Gaither will man one of those players. The other could be a rotating cast. That includes rookie Bryce Boettcher, who was involved in seven tackles in Week 1. He should see more reps than Allen, assuming that Allen doesn't miss the game altogether. Jaylon Carlies, who started in Week 1 but didn't have a tackle, could also get reps.
As for CJ Allen, maybe he will finally see the field, but almost certainly not much. Hopefully, his Indianapolis Colts future will be brighter, but currently, he isn't ready to fulfill Chris Ballard's draft prophecy.
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