The Washington Commanders have had one of the most respected interior defensive linemen in the NFL with Jonathan Allen for most of the last decade despite the franchise’s struggles to win games.
In 2023, for the first time in his career, Allen didn’t quite live up to expectations and let his frustrations spill over in a now-infamous postgame rant after a loss to the New York Giants.
With an almost entirely new team around him in 2024, Allen will attempt to return to the form that made him a two-time Pro Bowler and landed him a 4-year, $72 million contract extension in July 2021.
Pro Football Network’s Nick Faria put Allen on his list of NFL players in line for potential comeback seasons in 2024.
“Allen has long been considered one of the top interior defensive linemen over the last few seasons,” Faria wrote. “In 2023, though, Allen put forth his lowest sack total since 2020. Washington will need him to be the All-Pro player he has been in 2024.”
The Commanders’ veterans report to training camp on July 23.
Allen’s Name Still Garners Respect Around NFL
With Allen headed into his eighth season, PFF’s Sam Monson has him at No. 14 in his rankings of the Top 32 Interior Defenders in the NFL.
“Allen isn’t coming off his best season, but he still racked up 49 quarterback pressures and 37 defensive stops for the Commanders last year,” Monson wrote. “At his best, Allen is one of the most formidable pass-rushers in the game. He is just two years removed from a 90.9 PFF pass-rushing grade on the back of 67 pressures and double-digit sacks.”
The problem for Allen hasn’t been individual stats — it’s been the Commanders’ dreadful win-loss record. Since coming to the NFL, Washington is 43-71-1 with Allen on the roster and their only playoff appearance was a loss in the NFC Wild Card game in 2020.
Allen had a career-high 9.0 sacks in 2021 and has 22.0 sacks over the last three seasons, although that total has gone down each year. He’s also been durable. After only playing 5 games due to injury as a rookie in 2017 he’s only missed three games due to injury and never more than 1 game in a single season.
Second-Round Pick Could Make Allen Expendable
Depending on the play of 2024 NFL draft second-round pick (No. 36 overall) Jer’Zhan Newton, Allen could very well be a trade piece for the Commanders in the near future.
Newton, 6-foot-2 and 295 pounds was the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year in 2023 and a two-time All-Big Ten selection projected as a first-round pick before an unprecedented run on offensive players in the first round, when a record 23 offensive players were taken.
Because of his past complaints about the franchise, Allen seemed like a prime trade candidate throughout most of the offseason. That buzz has died down somewhat after Newton underwent foot surgery in May 2024 — the second time he’s had the same surgery in the last year.
It’s an injury that shouldn’t prevent him from playing this season but still creates some doubt on the part of the franchise — and incentive to keep Allen in the fold for the time being.
