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Week 8 Film Review: CJ Allen's First Start Provides Hope for Colts' Future

Breaking down why the Indianapolis Colts may have struck gold with rookie linebacker CJ Allen.
Jack Guiley|
Jacksonville Jaguars running back Bhayshul Tuten (33) sheds Indianapolis Colts linebacker CJ Allen (53) in the first quarter during an NFL football matchup at EverBank Stadium, Sunday, November, 1, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union]
Jacksonville Jaguars running back Bhayshul Tuten (33) sheds Indianapolis Colts linebacker CJ Allen (53) in the first quarter during an NFL football matchup at EverBank Stadium, Sunday, November, 1, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

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Indianapolis Colts

It's fair to say that nearly halfway through his rookie season, CJ Allen's path to consistent playing time has been arduous.

Lauded early on by recently fired general manager Chris Ballard as a "special dude", Allen had to fight through injury and questionable personnel decisions to receive his first opportunity in the starting lineup.

"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,' Ballard said about CJ Allen after drafting him 53rd overall in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Unfortunately for the Georgia product, his first shot at significant playing time ended in a monumental drubbing at the hands of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

However, as I will cover throughout the rest of this article, little of the blame should be attributed to Allen. Granted, anytime a defense gives up thirty-five points to an opposing offense, there will be some mistakes committed by its spine.

Nevertheless, for a rookie making his first start against Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars, I came away impressed with his play, especially against the run. In my opinion, there weren't many coverage reps that showcased specific proclivities in that department.

It'll likely require a much different game script than the one the Indianapolis Colts found themselves in last Sunday to see meaningful coverage reps for the young rookie.

The Positives: Splash Play

One of the more memorable plays from CJ Allen's first start was this sack coming off a play action drop back.

The reason Allen gets a free run at Trevor Lawrence is because of the stunt game up front executed by Adetomiwa Adebawore and Grover Stewart. Tomi starts from a 4i alignment on the right side of the formation and hesitates at the snap to allow Stewart to collision the right guard. This sets Adebawore free to loop back around and preoccupy the center and left guard. In some defenses this is simply called an "Indian" stunt.

Grover does a fantastic job occupying the "whole man" of the right guard and not allowing him to get hands on Allen, who has a chasm in the B-gap to run through.

One reason I wanted to highlight this play is because of the way CJ Allen finished the sack. Time and time again the Colts have failed to finish sacks on the rare occasion they've generated pressure.

Reading Fast Flow and Block Avoidance

This play looks to be an outside zone run by the Jaguars that gets blown up by Grover Stewart getting his helmet on the outside shoulder of the left guard and not allowing the center or guard to climb to either linebacker. We also get a gap exchange between Akeem Davis-Gaither, who immediately scrapes to the playside C gap, and Laiatu Latu, who knifes inside the left tackle's base block, forcing Bhayshul Tuten to cut back into CJ Allen.

Allen does a great job recognizing fast flow away from him and beats the climbing backside guard to the spot. He's able to "get skinny" and dip his shoulder underneath the bigger offensive lineman to penetrate the cutback lane.

I'd like to see the rookie finish off Tuten in the hole, rather than allowing him to fall forward after an awkward tackle attempt. However everything else about this rep, from the play recognition to the block avoidance was stellar.

Spilling with Authority

The Jaguars motion to an offset I set out of 13 personnel and end up running what I'm effectively calling "double iso". Since the Colts are in an under front, the center and playside guard double Grover Stewart at nose, leaving the offset tight end isolated on CJ Allen. Another tight end wraps into the C gap and is isolated on Cam Bynum.

CJ Allen knows he needs to "take grass" on the tight end, so he attacks downhill and collisions the lead blocker. He does so with his outside shoulder on the inside half of the blocker to "spill" the ball carrier to a teammate. The violence with which he attacks downhill ensures the lead blocker can't get vertical displacement, and allows Mooney Ward a nice clean picture to fit into when Tuten hits the hole.

The Negatives

The Jaguars run outside zone towards CJ Allen this time. The right tackle completely washes Allen out of the run fit, and he fails to make the tackle from behind once the running back breaks into open space.

The issue here is allowing the offensive linemen to get frame to frame with him. Once Cole Van Lanen was able to square the rookie up and get his hands inside his chest, he was never going to be able to deconstruct the block.

This Bhayshul Tuten touchdown was the result of several catastrophic breakdowns in the Colts defense. That happened far too many times on Sunday, and wasn't always due to the failures of one player. That is yet another unfortunate trend that has permeated throughout the Colts' 2026 season.

The final play I chose to highlight was this lead toss play. I think Allen may be looking for play action or even be boot/counter/reverse responsible. Either way, after widening with the fast motion of the receiver, he's a tick late getting back over the top, and gets cut off by the right guard.

The second play I highlighted showed Allen getting skinny and giving the blocker less surface area to get hands on him. I'd like to see something similar in this instance. Instead he allows the blocker to completely drive him out of the play as he fights to get over the top.

Conclusion

CJ Allen poses for a picture with other Georgia football alumni.
Nov 1, 2026; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Indianapolis Colts linebacker CJ Allen (53) and center Sedrick Van Pran-Granger (63) meet with Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Travon Walker (44) after the game at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Travis Register-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Like with any player, there are certainly some reps that CJ Allen would have liked to have back. But on the whole, I thought he showed substantial promise in his first career start.

There will probably be times throughout his career where he has difficulty tracking the ball carrier through the hole due to his lack of elite size, but the speed in which he attacks open space and his tenacity coming downhill stood out on film. On several plays Allen's pre-snap communication revealed he had a good idea of what run play was coming at him, and the majority of his post-snap reactions were evidence that the rookie has played high level football for a long time.

Akeem Davis-Gaither, the Colts' primary starting linebacker thus far, was downgraded to out for Week 9, so CJ Allen is slated to assume green dot duties for the first time in his career.

Indianapolis' second-round pick provided another reason for fans to turn one eye towards the future last Sunday, even as Indy's season as a whole took another turn towards going completely down the drain.

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Jack Guiley
JACK GUILEY

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