Devy Digest: Braelon Allen

The Devy Digest, featuring Wisconsin running back Braelon Allen.

• Braelon Allen
• Position: Running Back
• Wisconsin Badgers
  
• 6’2” 245 lbs
  
• Age: 20
  
• Draft Eligible: 2024
• Devy Digest RB 2024 Draft Rank: 4

Who is Braelon Allen?

Braelon Allen was a 4⭐️ in the composites and attended Fond Du Lac High in Wisconsin. Allen is younger than the typical prospect due to reclassifying from the 2022 class, to the 2021 class. For reference, Reuben Owens, a True Freshman last year for Texas A&M entered as a 20-year old.

Allen was a two-way player in high school. He showed enough talent that services actually listed him as a linebacker due to his size and physicality. Allen held 15 offers but stayed home with the Badgers. He made an immediate impact as a 17-year old True Freshman, running for 1268 yards on 186 carries with 12 touchdowns. He was a phenom right from the start.

Allen followed that season with a less efficient season as a Sophomore. He ran for 1242 yards on 230 carries with 11 touchdowns. He also made some contributions as a receiver, hauling in 13 receptions.

This past offseason, Wisconsin brought in a new and more modern offense. Phil Longo and the air raid offense came to town – and that raised some concerns. Longo has always utilized a two-back system everywhere that he’s gone. Not necessarily a thunder and lightning or bruiser and pass-catcher, but just two backs that complement the system. But that meant more opportunities for Allen as a pass-catcher – an unknown for his profile.

Allen would go on to run for a career-low 984 yards on 181 carries with 12 touchdowns. He hauled in 28 receptions that only amounted to 132 yards. Allen has declared for the 2024 NFL Draft and will be 20 years old at the time of the NFL draft and is a consensus top 2 running back for the class.

Strengths

Braelon Allen is a former safety/linebacker, and that physicality shows when he runs the ball. Allen isn’t just strictly a battering ram, however. He shows patience as a runner, allowing his blocks to form. He also has good enough footwork to be nimble – as nimble as a 6’2″ 245lb human can be, that is.

Allen is also learning the position as a former defensive player. He has shown a knack at RB and should continue to grow as an overall complete football player. Allen does possess enough speed to break long runs. He has enough physicality that once he gets to the secondary, it’s tough for one man to bring him down.

.@BadgerFootball running back Braelon Allen (6-2, 235) hit 20.1 mph on his record-breaking 96-yard TD against Illinois State on Saturday. Allen’s touchdown is the longest run in #Badger history. pic.twitter.com/ULa5F7KVbJ

— Reel Analytics (@RAanalytics) September 5, 2022

Allen brings a truly unique size and speed combination, with enough speed to be effective if he can get to the second level. While not efficient with his touches as a receiver, he did haul in 28 this past season and 49 overall in his career The efficiency wasn’t there, but he’s shown that he can catch it if it’s needed.

Being only 20 years old, Allen might be intoxicating to some managers with the belief that they can mold him. Allen could be viewed as a back with tremendous ceiling due to his age.

Areas of Improvement & Concern

Many will say Braelon Allen is a unicorn. My issue is in today’s game, a 6’2″ 245lb running back who can make an impact are nearly extinct. I also still have questions about him being a capable pass-catcher. All of his receptions were either at or near the line of scrimmage. He did nothing with those 28 receptions, either, barely breaking 130 yards.

Allen has also declined in efficiency with every passing year. You can say it was the system, as Wisconsin was transitioning into a new offense. The team also lacked the necessary pieces to perform. But the tape also showed Allen missing holes and lacking vision. My concern is he’s an overhyped AJ Dillon type of player.

I keep seeing this a lot from Braelon Allen.

His creativity and processing of Wisconsin's zone runs are not the best.

I've seen him miss a lot of early play recognition which usually allows running backs avoid wasted movements and hit the running lanes more efficiently.… pic.twitter.com/NO0bnM4v28

— Alfredo Brown (@ThePretendGM) January 26, 2024

Braelon Allen’s vision has always been something I’ve held against him. While that has improved, it’s nowhere near where it needs to be as the top running back of the class. At 245lbs, Allen does lack short area quickness. In the NFL, Allen could end up being only a bruiser – getting the tough yards before being subbed out for a more electric back who ends up getting a 15 yard touchdown run while Allen is on the sidelines. This isn’t 2005 where bruising backs are dominating the NFL. In today’s game, I don’t see Allen getting enough volume to wear down a defense and gash them in the fourth quarter. That’s simply not today’s game.

If he doesn’t profile as the pass catcher, doesn’t have the short are quickness to evade, then we are essentially looking at a two-down back to be a battering ram. With Allen being 20 years old, it can also be viewed as a negative. In the NFL he will be running up against grown men who have mature muscle mass and the knowledge to leverage their bodyweight to make Allen an inefficient runner.

Do GM’s really want to wait two years for Allen’s body to start maturing to become ready for the grind that is the NFL? His age is the most polarizing trait that he brings. I can see GM’s being on both sides of the spectrum regarding this.

Devy & C2C Value

As a Devy asset, you likely spent a 1st or an early 2nd for him. In C2C’s you probably spent a late 1st to 2nd. You can view it one of two ways with this draft class being so down for the position. A running back will get vaulted up if a team needs one and therefore can enhance your value. Personally, I would be actively trying to sell Allen. It’s likely he goes in second round of the NFL draft. If I can trade him for an established running back, I would. I’d even be inclined to pick up an older running back, some CFF pieces, and an early round supplemental pick on the College side of a C2C draft. I don’t think it’s out of the question that you can get a WR from the same draft class – perhaps  Rome Odunze and something else. Typically, I trade from the WR bucket to pick up a running back; the inverse is not necessarily a viable option due to the positional value. But with Allen likely being the RB1 of the draft class, you might be able to squeeze a good trade out of this.

NFL Outlook

Day 2 in the NFL draft is likely where Braelon Allen is selected. Some have him as a second round player with a top 45 pick potential. I wouldn’t fault anyone for having that belief. He could very well be a top 45 pick. It’s also quite possible with how the game is today, that GM’s don’t want to take a running back of his profile. If that happens, we may not see him get drafted until the third round.

Most have Allen as their RB1 of the class. He comes in as my RB4 just due to his entire profile. Allen by no means is a bad prospect, he just isn’t my type of a running back that I prefer at the next level. There are people out there that view Allen as a potential difference maker in the same vein as Derrick Henry.