Allen with theWashington Commanders in 2022 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 93 – Minnesota Vikings | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Defensive end | ||||||||||||||
| Roster status | Active | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | (1995-01-16)January 16, 1995 (age 30) Anniston, Alabama, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight | 300 lb (136 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Stone Bridge(Ashburn, Virginia) | ||||||||||||||
| College | Alabama (2013–2016) | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2017: 1st round, 17th overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of Week 7, 2025 | |||||||||||||||
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Jonathan Allen (born January 16, 1995) is an American professionalfootballdefensive end for theMinnesota Vikings of theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theAlabama Crimson Tide, winning anational championship in 2015 and several defensive player of the year awards in 2016. Allen was selected by theWashington Redskins in the first round of the2017 NFL draft, where he made twoPro Bowls in his eight seasons with the team.
Allen was born on January 16, 1995, inAnniston, Alabama, living inSeattle,North Carolina,South Carolina,Pittsburgh, andMaryland before settling down inAshburn, Virginia, and attendingStone Bridge High School.[1] Allen's parents split up when he was three years old and his mother was granted custody of him and his brother, Richard Allen III. At the age of eight, both he and his brother were taken away by child protective services.[2] Allen spent ten months in foster care before his father, US Army Sgt. 1st Class Richard Allen Jr., won full custody of him and his brother in 2004.[2][3] As a senior in 2012, he was the VirginiaGatorade Football Player of the Year.[4] During his career, he had 308tackles and 44sacks. Allen was a five-star recruit and was ranked amongst the top of his class.[5] He committed to playcollege football for theUniversity of Alabama.[6][7]
Allen played in 13 games as atrue freshman at Alabama in 2013 and had 16 tackles. As a sophomore in 2014, he played in all 14 games and made 12 starts. He was named first-teamAll-Southeastern Conference after recording 33 tackles and 5.5 sacks.[8] As a junior in 2015, Allen started all 14 games for the Crimson Tide, who won the2016 College Football Playoff National Championship over theClemson Tigers by a score of 45–40.[9] Allen went on to win theBronko Nagurski Trophy,Chuck Bednarik Award, andLombardi Award for his performance in the 2016 season.
| Season | GP | Defense | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cmb | TfL | Sck | Fum | ||
| 2013 | 13 | 15 | 3 | 0.5 | 1 |
| 2014 | 14 | 32 | 11 | 5.0 | 0 |
| 2015 | 14 | 36 | 14.5 | 12.0 | 2 |
| 2016 | 15 | 69 | 16 | 10.5 | 0 |
| Total | 50 | 152 | 44.5 | 28.0 | 3 |
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft2+5⁄8 in (1.90 m) | 286 lb (130 kg) | 33+5⁄8 in (0.85 m) | 9+3⁄8 in (0.24 m) | 5.00 s | 1.73 s | 2.86 s | 4.50 s | 7.49 s | 30.0 in (0.76 m) | 9 ft 0 in (2.74 m) | 21 reps | |
| All values fromNFL Combine[10][11] | ||||||||||||
Allen was projected to be a top five pick by some NFL draft experts. His stock began to decline after teams became concerned when he was diagnosed witharthritis in one of hisshoulders and had surgery on both, two weeks before the combine.[12] He was ranked as the top defensive tackle bySports Illustrated,Pro Football Focus, and NFLDraftScout.com.[13][14][15]ESPN ranked him the second best defensive lineman behindMyles Garrett.[16] Even with the arthritis diagnosis, Allen was projected to be a first-round pick by analysts and scouts.[10]

TheWashington Redskins selected Allen in the first round, 17th overall, of the2017 NFL draft.[17] He signed his four-year rookie contract, worth $11.59 million, on May 11, 2017.[18] Allen recorded his first career sack in a Week 3 game against theOakland Raiders.[19] In Week 6, he suffered aLisfranc injury against theSan Francisco 49ers.[20] He later underwent surgery and was placed oninjured reserve on October 19.[21]
Allen returned for the 2018 season and started all 16 games, recording eight sacks, 61 total tackles, and 15 quarterback hits.[22] In the 2019 season, he started in 15 games and finished with six sacks, 68 total tackles (46 solo), one pass defended, one fumble recovery, and one fumble recovery.[23] The team exercised the fifth-year option on his contract on April 27, 2020.[24] After playing the defensive end position for the first three seasons of his career, Allen switched over to defensive tackle after the team's new defensive coordinatorJack Del Rio implemented a4-3 defensive scheme.[25][26] He finished the 2020 season with two sacks, 63 total tackles (36 solo), one fumble recovery, and one safety.[27]

On July 27, 2021, Allen signed a four-year contract extension worth $72 million.[28][29] On December 13, he was placed on the COVID-19 reserve list, but placed back on the active roster five days later.[30][31] After recording a sack in the Week 15 game against thePhiladelphia Eagles, he set a temporary career-high of 8.5 sacks in a single-season.[32] The following week, Allen punched teammateDaron Payne on the sideline during a blowoutSunday Night Football loss to theDallas Cowboys.[33] He went on to set a career-high of 9.0 sacks in a single-season in the season finale against theNew York Giants. Allen was voted to his firstPro Bowl following the season,[34] and was ranked 88th by his fellow players on theNFL Top 100 Players of 2022.[35]
In Week 1 of the 2022 season, he recorded three tackles and a sack.[36] In Week 6 against theChicago Bears, Allen caught a pass fromJustin Fields for his first career interception and had his first career forced fumble in the win.[37] In December, he was voted into his second consecutivePro Bowl,[38] and was ranked 52nd by his fellow players on theNFL Top 100 Players of 2023.[39] In the 2023 season, Allen started 16 games and finished with 5.5 sacks, 53 total tackles (30 solo), and one pass defended.[40]
In Week 6 of the 2024 season, Allen partially tore his leftpectoral muscle and was thought to be out for the remainder of the season.[41] On December 28, he was activated offinjured reserve prior to the Week 17 game.[42] Allen finished the 2024 regular season with 19 tackles and three sacks over eight games.[43]
On February 25, 2025, Allen was granted permission by the Commanders to seek a trade.[44] He was released on March 7 after not finding a trade partner.[45]
On March 11, 2025, Allen signed a three-year, $60 million contract with theMinnesota Vikings.[46][47]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Fumbles | Interceptions | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | Sfty | FF | FR | Yds | TD | PD | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 2017 | WAS | 5 | 5 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | WAS | 16 | 16 | 61 | 35 | 26 | 8.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | WAS | 15 | 15 | 68 | 46 | 22 | 6.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | WAS | 16 | 16 | 63 | 36 | 27 | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | WAS | 17 | 17 | 62 | 31 | 31 | 9.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | WAS | 16 | 16 | 65 | 44 | 21 | 7.5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2023 | WAS | 16 | 16 | 53 | 30 | 23 | 5.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | WAS | 8 | 7 | 19 | 16 | 3 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 109 | 108 | 401 | 241 | 160 | 42.0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | |
Allen married his wife, Hannah, in July 2018.[48] Due to his own personal experience with thefoster care system, Allen has often helped withhomeless shelters.[49][2] Allen grew up as a fan of the Redskins.[50]