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Speed shouldn’t be a problem on Sundays. The Philadelphia Eagles added a legitimate track star to the receivers room when the team inked Devon Allen. He’s literally a world-class sprinter. Allen set the new world record in the 110-meter hurdles on April 30 after running it in a blazing fast 13.11 seconds at the Penn Relays.
Allen — a three-time national champion and two-time Olympian — joked that the event was his “coming out party” to Philadelphia during his post-race press conference. He wanted to get in the fans’ good graces to start his career, especially after soaking in a recent Sixers game and seeing how passionate the city is about their sports.
“I saw first-hand like the swings in the fans,” Allen said, “so if I can get in their good graces to start, that will be good for my career for sure.”
The Oregon product has a personal-best time of 12.99 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles. His 13.11 at the Penn Relays broke his previous mark of 13.12 and serves as the new fastest time in the world for 2022. Yes, Allen can fly off the line and the 27-year-old athlete doesn’t plan to put his track career on hold for football. He’ll keep competing in both sports this summer.
“I’m going to do my best to balance the two,” Allen said. “I had a lot of conversations with the [Eagles] coaching staff, with the head coach, OC [offensive coordinator], and then also strength and conditioning. Like I said earlier, the most important thing is to stay healthy, obviously, if I’m going to continue to run track and train for the US Championships and the World Championships, it would behoove me to try to win. And be in the best shape I can possibly be in, and be as prepared as I can possibly be to win it.”
The US Championships begin on May 6 in Arkansas, then the World Championships kick off on July 15 in Oregon. Yes, he has football obligations in between.
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Allen Preparing for Eagles OTAs, Track Events
The Eagles invited players back to the practice facility for their offseason conditioning program on April 25. Allen participated in those first spring workouts and plans to report to OTAs in South Philly on May 31.
“Football hasn’t changed. It’s the same sport I played for 15 years,” Allen said at the Penn Relays. “This next week I’m going to take a week off from track and kind of just focus on the football stuff, and once OTAs is done I’m going to take two weeks back on the track. I got a couple of meets lined up. And then kind of go back and forth until the first week of June and then spend the next six weeks getting ready for Worlds and US Championships.”
Allen ran the 40-yard dash in 4.35 seconds at his Oregon Pro Day where he first caught the eye of scouts. He measured 6-foot and weighed in at 198 pounds, a weight he’d like to get down a bit from a track standpoint.
“I’m in good shape already,” Allen said. “You know, foot speed-wise, fitness … I can stand to lose a couple of pounds. I’m getting a little bit heavy, but other than that I feel good.”
Updated WR Depth Chart in Philly
The Eagles didn’t take any receivers in last weekend’s NFL draft, but they did trade for Pro Bowler A.J. Brown. He immediately slides in at WR1 on the depth chart, next to second-year man DeVonta Smith. The team also will be looking for contributions from Zach Pascal, Quez Watkins, Greg Ward, Jalen Reagor.
Other players in the mix for snaps include John Hightower, Deon Cain, and undrafted rookie Britain Covey. Remember, 2019 second-rounder J.J. Arcega-Whiteside is transitioning to tight end.
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