CJ Allen

Draft-Week Buzz

• 2026-04-15 [Cardinals visit] — Arizona hosted — 3-down LB at #34
• 2026-04-08 [Pro Day] — 4.55 40 at 6-0, 230 confirmed
• 2026-03-26 [All-SEC] — 1st-team All-SEC post-season

Buzz items pulled from beat-writer reports, ESPN/NFL.com transactions, Pro Day recaps, and verified Top 30 visit reports in the 30 days leading into the 2026 NFL Draft. Each linked headline goes to the original source. See our full draft-week news tab for cross-prospect timeline.

Combine / Pro Day Measurables (reported)

Numbers compiled from NFL Scouting Combine results, Pro Day box scores, and beat-writer reports. "Reported" means cross-referenced against multiple sources; verify on nfl.com/combine for definitive marks.

College Career Stats

• 2023 Georgia (Fr): 41 tackles, 1 sack, 2 PD across 14 games (5 starts)
• 2024 Georgia (So): 76 tackles, 1 INT, 4 PD across 14 games (12 starts)
• 2025 Georgia (Jr): 56 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 FF, 3 PD across 13 games — leading run-defense LB grade nationally

NFL Pro Comparison

Roquan Smith — high-volume tackle producer with elite run-defense instincts; Day 1 starter projection despite pass-rush gaps

Mock-Draft Consensus

30-day trend: Rising — board disagreement

Ranks cross-referenced from ESPN's Jordan Reid top-500, PFF's 2026 Big Board top-200, and Daniel Jeremiah's top-50 (NFL.com). Realistic draft-night range reflects projected team fit and trade scenarios, not just big-board placement.

Advanced Stats & Production

Metrics blended from PFF grade sheets, school box scores, and Combine/Pro Day box scores. Position-specific: QB shows efficiency + turnover rates, WR/TE show route-running + contested-catch, OL shows pass-block grade + pressures allowed, EDGE/IDL show pass-rush win rate + pressure rate, LB/DB show coverage grade + missed-tackle rate.

Outcome Range

• Floor: Solid rotational LB in base packages, limited 3-down versatility
• Median: Starting-caliber ILB in run-heavy schemes — Pro Bowl if pass rush improves
• Ceiling: Elite defensive signal-caller and tackle machine in modern Georgia LB mold

Scheme Fit

Base-heavy, run-first 4-3 or 3-4 defense leveraging diagnostic ability; Tampa-2 or Cover-3 over heavy blitz packages

Pre-Draft Visits

Top-30 visits with the Arizona Cardinals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Dallas Cowboys

Signature College Game

2024 vs Georgia Tech (8-OT): career-high 10 tackles, repeatedly diagnosed Tech's run concepts

Sources

• ESPN Player Page
• Georgia Athletics
• PFF Player Page

Our scouting profile is assembled from these primary sources + cross-checked against ESPN (Kiper / Reid / Miller), PFF's 2026 Big Board, Dane Brugler's The Beast 2026, and Daniel Jeremiah's top-50. See our full methodology and citations.

Day 2 / Day 3 Team Fits

NFL teams that lost a same-position veteran this offseason — and could target CJ Allen as a Day 2/3 replacement option.

• REPORTED New York Giants: moved on from Bobby Okereke (MIKE-LB).
  Picks held: R1 #5; R2 #37
• REPORTED Cincinnati Bengals: moved on from Akeem Davis-Gaither (slot-LB).
  Picks held: R1 #10; R2 #41
• REPORTED Chicago Bears: moved on from Tremaine Edmunds (MIKE-LB).
  Picks held: R1 #25; R2 #57; R2 #60 via Buffalo

Confidence: "VERIFIED" departures cite a publication URL (Spotrac, OverTheCap, ESPN, NFL.com, team transactions page) confirming the move and date. "REPORTED" entries come from public free-agency trackers without a single canonical source we could attach. Fits are archetype-and-position based; we are not claiming the team has expressed interest in the prospect.

NFL Scheme Fit

Scheme matches are bucketed from the prospect's height, weight, and (for WRs) archetype tag against a static lookup of which NFL teams currently run each scheme family.

Rookie Contract & Landing-Spot Outlook

Contract band uses the 2026 NFL CBA rookie wage scale projected from the prospect's expected pick range; guarantee % is the slot-default at that pick. Landing-spot best/worst case is derived from TEAMS data (positional needs + scheme overlap minus same-position R1 conflicts) — not a claim that either team has expressed interest.

Versatility, Limits & Roster Pathway

Derived from height/weight against the 2026 position cohort and the prospect's projected round. Versatility callouts identify alternate alignments NFL teams have historically used for similar size profiles. Limiting-trait notes flag the single most-cited measurable concern; severity reflects how often that flag ends a Day 1 starter projection. Roster-pathway notes describe the realistic Year 1 NFL role for Day 3 picks.

By the Numbers — 2026 Class Context

• Frame: Among 2026 LB prospects, his 6-0 / 230 lbs frame sits at the 4th percentile in height and 69th percentile in weight.
• Position class: CJ Allen is LB #2 of 26 ranked LBs in the 2026 class. Of those, 3 are projected in the R1 range.
• School pipeline: One of 11 Georgia prospects in the 2026 NFL Draft — but the only LB.

Computed factually from the 2026 prospect class roster — height/weight percentiles benchmark this player against every other ranked prospect at the same position. Recruiting arc compares his high-school 247Sports/Rivals composite to his current projected round.

CJ Allen’s NFL Archetype: Fred Warner

Fred Warner (San Francisco 49ers)

Closest LB physical profile in the modern NFL: 6-0/230 lbs. Same frame, same role bucket — NOT a talent or career-arc projection.

Note: this is a physical-profile match — frame, position, role bucket. Not a talent or career-arc projection.

Similar Linebacker Prospects

Closest matches to CJ Allen (6-0 / 230 lbs, #2 LB) by ranking proximity and physical profile. SIZE MATCH = within 1″ height and 10 lbs; TIER MATCH = within 2 ranking spots.

• Jacob RodriguezSIZE MATCH Texas Tech · 6-1/240 lbs · #3 LB · R1-R2
• Josiah TrotterTIER MATCH Missouri · 6-2/230 lbs · #4 LB · R2
• Anthony Hill Jr. Texas · 6-2/235 lbs · #5 LB · R2
• Jake Golday Cincinnati · 6-2/230 lbs · #6 LB · R2-R3
• Kyle LouisSIZE MATCH Pittsburgh · 6-1/225 lbs · #7 LB · R3

→ Full Linebackers rankings

Georgia & The 2026 Class