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Eagles' Beau Allen playing better than a seventh-round pick

Just a seventh-rounder, defensive tackle Beau Allen making Eagles take notice.

When the Eagles take the field on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars, few of their players will have come as far to get there as defensive tackle Beau Allen.

Allen was a seventh-round pick in April's draft, and seventh-round picks usually land on the practice squad or the unemployment line. In fact, none of the other nine seventh-round selections made by the Eagles since 2010 are still with the team, including all three chosen last year by new coach Chip Kelly — defensive back Jordon Poyer and defensive ends Joe Kruger and David King.

But Allen has defied the stereotypes and the odds of being a seventh-round pick. He won't start on Sunday in the NFL season opener against the Jaguars at Lincoln Financial Field — Bennie Logan, a third-round pick last year, is No.1 on the depth chart — but Allen will play and possibly play a lot. In fact, depending on how the Jaguars' offense attacks the Eagles' defense, Allen could conceivably play more than Logan. Either way, he'll be a valuable part of the D-line rotation.

Not bad for a guy who had to hear 223 other names called on draft day before the Eagles finally called his.

"Coming in, I knew what the odds were,'' Allen said on Thursday. "When you see all of those players drafted ahead of you, you realize that there are a lot of great players out there and, obviously, teams thought more of them than they did of me. That's a humbling feeling.

"So, to be still here to start the season and to hopefully be able to contribute to this defense, I couldn't be happier. I'm still not taking anything for granted and I'm definitely not satisfied, but it's a real feeling of accomplishment to be where I am right now.''

And the 6-foot-2, 333-pound Allen won his race the same way the tortoise won his — slow and steady.

"Beau was consistent in the preseason, and I think that's probably what jumps out the most,'' defensive coordinator Bill Davis said of Allen's progress. "He's a load in there to move, so they struggle to move him off the point, and he's very consistent with his footwork, with his hands, with his play down in and down out.

"There haven't be any 'wow' plays, but there have been a bunch of really good consistency,'' David added. "When you talk about Beau, that's what jumps out first.''

That might not exactly sound like a ringing endorsement, but Allen plays an unsung position that absorbs a lot of punishment and doesn't get much praise. The main responsibility of a nose tackle in the Eagles' 3-4 base offense (three down linemen and four linebackers) is to jam up the middle of the line and occupy blockers so the linebackers can make plays.

It's not glamorous, but it is necessary and it's why Allen has a job. He proved to the coaches he could handle the position early in training camp, and that's also when he realized that he belonged here, even if 223 other college players were drafted before him.

"As soon as we put the pads on I knew I could play at this level,'' he said. "Coming in, you're naturally apprehensive about how you'll match up with these guys, and when it came to being physical I was able to do that. And that's when I started to feel a lot better about things and about my chances of making this team.

"It's such a cliché, but it's true — football is football,'' Allen added. "It's a 100-yard field and it's a leather ball and that doesn't change whether you're in the NFL, in college or even in high school. So, once I proved to myself that I could hang with these guys physically, that boosted my confidence tremendously and things have just kept rolling from there. Now I'm just trying to learn as much as I can as fast as I can.''

At least the Eagles don't have to worry about the harsh Northeast winters bothering Allen — he's from Minnetonka, Minn., and played his college football at Wisconsin, which is befitting of a life-long Green Bay Packers fan.

Allen showed in college the consistency and steady play that has impressed his Eagles coaches. He never made it higher than honorable mention on the All-Big Ten team, but he never missed a game in his college career and he set a school record by playing in 54 games. He was also a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection.

Allen also doesn't take himself too seriously. In his profile in the Eagles' media guide, when asked what actor would play him in a movie, Allen said "Jack Black or probably some fat actor. This isn't usually a Hollywood frame.''

Kevin Noonan is a freelance writer.

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