Ten years from now, Colts rookie linebacker CJ Allen may be considered one of the best players in the NFL. If that turns out to be the case, I hope he will be able to look back on stories like this and laugh. Right now, as his first preseason comes to a close, I don’t imagine he is doing much laughing.
CJ Allen has been hurt during training camp. He has missed development time that is crucial to all young players. Outsiders have no real insight into where he is physically or mentally. But we can see him on the field during these exhibition games, and what we have seen has been underwhelming.
The problem is not that he is making mistakes. All rookies make mistakes. The problem is that Allen has been invisible. There were other young players in the final preseason game against the Lions who struggled. Fellow linebacker Bryce Boettcher had his share of troubles.
Indianapolis Colts may be rethinking their top draft pick this year
Cornerback Rob Carter was repeatedly torched. Still, both of them also made plays. Plays where they showed why the Colts have brought them into the fold. We are still waiting to see that from their first pick in the 2026 draft.
Midway through the third quarter of Saturday’s contest, CJ Allen had no stats. No tackles or assists. No sacks or pass defenses. He did not appear in the box score. Though he would eventually finish with a couple of assists, he finished behind his fellow linebackers across the board. Boettcher had four solo tackles and two other assists. Austin Ajiake and Jaylon Carlies also had more tackles.
Sometimes, statistics can lie. That was not the case on Saturday. Allen was not a factor on most plays. He was cleanly blocked on running plays and beaten in pass coverage. At the end of virtually every play, Allen was several steps away from the action.
CJ Allen looks good on the field. Coaches and teammates have always praised his intelligence and work ethic. He moves well. The problem in his absurdly brief NFL career is that he simply has not made plays. For a linebacker, that is an unpardonable mistake.
West Weeks made a play or two. Mitchell Melton recovered a fumble. These are deep depth players – undrafted free agents for whom a spot on the practice squad would be a victory. That is not the case with Allen.
He was the Colts' top draft pick in 2026. They did not have a first-round pick as a result of the Sauce Gardner trade, and they were delighted when Allen fell to them midway through the second round. He was immediately seen as the player who would lead the revival of the linebacker corps.
Zaire Franklin was gone. Germaine Pratt too. E.J. Speed was a distant memory. The rebuild was supposed to begin with Allen. He would be the green dot leader of a revamped unit.
Those plans were put on hold when he missed time in camp. Now, Cam Bynum will be handling the defensive calls. Now, it appears that all of the other linebackers likely to make the squad will begin the season with a bigger role. All of them, including Boettcher, drafted two rounds after Allen last April, have earned more playing time by actually making plays.
Again, a decade from now, we may know that all CJ Allen needed was a little time and some good health to develop into the player the Colts hoped he would be when they drafted him. But after his first preseason, he is not looking like the franchise-turning pick Chris Ballard was expecting.
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