Zachary William-Jacob Allen (born August 20, 1997) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Boston College Eagles The Boston College Eagles are the athletic teams that represent Boston College, located in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level ( Football Bowl Subdivis ...

College career

As a freshman in

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, Allen played in all 12 games of the regular season, primarily as a member of the

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

unit. He participated in 66 plays on special teams and 46 plays at

. In the first game of his collegiate career, Allen registered an assisted tackle in the season opener vs. Maine and recorded one solo tackle against Howard. In

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, Allen played in 13 games (

2016 Quick Lane Bowl The 2016 Quick Lane Bowl was a postseason college football bowl game, played at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan, on December 26, 2016. The third edition of the Quick Lane Bowl featured the Maryland Terrapins of the Big Ten Conference and the ...

), making one start against Georgia Tech in Dublin. Allen recorded 36 tackles on the season, including 19 solo tackles, and 17 assists, as well as 6.0 sacks. On the year he deflected 4 passes and had 2 fumble recoveries. In the

, Allen played a big part in the victory over the

Maryland Terrapins The Maryland Terrapins, commonly referred to as the Terps, consist of 19 men's and women's college sports in the United States, varsity intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Maryland, College Park in National Collegiate ...

, recording a single-game career high of 2 sacks for a loss of 15 yards, along with 2 solo tackles. In

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, Allen was promoted to a full-time starting

and started in all 13 games (

2017 Pinstripe Bowl The 2017 Pinstripe Bowl was a bowl game, a post-season American college football event that was played on December 27, 2017, at Yankee Stadium in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The eighth edition of the Pinstripe Bowl featured the Iowa H ...

). Allen had a career year: He had 47 solo tackles and 53 assists, with 15.5 tackles for loss, a 5.5 improvement. Allen was one of only two

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

to record at least 100 tackles. Despite the leap in tackles, his sack production dropped to 4.0, 2.0 fewer than the 6.0 he recorded in 2016. Allen recorded 1 interception and deflected 3 passes. After posting a career-high 14 tackles against

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

, Allen was named the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

Defensive lineman of the week. After the season, Allen won the Bulger Love Award, given to New England's best offensive and defensive

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

football players. There was speculation that Allen would declare for the

2018 NFL draft The 2018 NFL draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington southwest of Dallas; it was ...

after his junior season, but he later announced that he would return to school for his senior year. In

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, Allen played in all 12 regular season games; however, he did not participate in the 2018 First Responder Bowl. On the year, Allen proved to still be quite productive, recording 26 solo tackles, 35 assists, and 15.0 tackles for loss. Allen had a career-high for sacks in 2018, recording 6.5, a 0.5 improvement over his 2016 record. Allen tallied 1 interception, which was returned for 6 yards, and deflected a career-high 7 passes, doubling all of his previous years' deflected passes combined. He also had 2 fumble recoveries and his first career forced fumble.

College statistics

Professional career

Arizona Cardinals

Allen was selected by the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

with the 65th overall pick in the third round of the

2019 NFL draft The 2019 NFL draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville. The first round was held ...

. Following training camp, Allen was named a starting defensive end to start the season. Allen started for the Cardinals in his debut during Week 1 of the 2019 season against the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

. During the game, Allen recorded three solo tackles. He played in the first four games before suffering a neck injury in Week 4. He missed the next six games before being placed on injured reserve on November 13, 2019. In Week 1 of the 2020 season against the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

, Allen recorded his first career sack on

Jimmy Garoppolo James Richard Garoppolo (born November 2, 1991), nicknamed "Jimmy G", is an American professional football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Eastern Illinois Panther ...

during the 24–20 win. He was placed on injured reserve on October 27, 2020. He was activated on November 28, 2020. In Week 15 against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

, Allen led the team with 11 tackles and sacked

Jalen Hurts Jalen Alexander Hurts (born August 7, 1998) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). Hurts began his college football career with the Alabama Crims ...

once during the 33–26 win. Allen entered the 2021 season as a starting defensive end. He played in 15 games with 14 starts, recording 48 tackles, four sacks, and three fumble recoveries.

Denver Broncos

On March 15, 2023, Allen signed a three-year, $45.75 million contract with the

. During the 2024 season, Allen recorded 8.5 sacks, 15 tackle-for-losses, and a safety, and was named a Second-team All-Pro.

References

External links

*
Sports Reference (college)

Denver Broncos bio

Boston College Eagles bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Zach 1997 births Living people American football defensive ends Arizona Cardinals players Boston College Eagles football players Denver Broncos players People from New Canaan, Connecticut Players of American football from Fairfield County, Connecticut