Commanders’ $72 Million DT Still Ranked Among NFL’s Best

Over the course of his seven seasons in the NFL, Washington Commanders defensive tackle Jonathan Allen has proven he’s one of the very best at his position despite playing for one of the league’s consistently worst teams.

Now, headed into his eighth season in 2024, Allen’s stature among NFL interior defensive linemen remains elite after PFF’s Sam Monson put Allen at No. 14 in his rankings of the Top 32 Interior Defenders in the NFL.

Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones, a three-time Super Bowl champion and five-time NFL All-Pro, took the No. 1 spot on the list after the retirement of Los Angeles Rams superstar Aaron Donald following the 2023 season.

“Allen isn’t coming off his best season, but he still racked up 49 quarterback pressures and 37 defensive stops for the Commanders last year,” Monson wrote. “At his best, Allen is one of the most formidable pass-rushers in the game. He is just two years removed from a 90.9 PFF pass-rushing grade on the back of 67 pressures and double-digit sacks.”

Despite playing on bad teams — the Commanders haven’t had a winning record since 2016 — Allen has also been paid like one of the NFL’s best defensive tackles after he signed a 4-year, $72 million contract extension in 2021.

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Allen’s Career Defined By Commanders’ Struggles

Allen has been one of the NFL’s best defensive tackles since the Commanders drafted him out of Alabama with the No. 17 overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft.

The 6-foot-3, 300-pound Virginia native was a dyed-in-the-wool winner with the Crimson Tide after he won a College Football Playoff national championship in 2015 and was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2016.

Since coming to the NFL, Washington is 43-71-1 with Allen on the roster and their only playoff appearance was a loss in the NFC Wild Card game in 2020. Allen’s frustrations came to a head with a postgame rant following a 14-7 loss to the New York Giants in 2023.

Allen is already a two-time Pro Bowler, making it in 2021 and 2022 and had a career-high 9.0 sacks in 2021. After only playing 5 games due to injury as a rookie in 2017, Allen has been incredibly durable — since 2018 he’s only missed three games due to injury and never more than 1 game in a single season.

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Allen Could Be Mentor to Young Defensive Tackle

Allen has a unique opportunity in 2024 with a revamped Commanders’ roster and a defensive-minded head coach in Dan Quinn, who is in his first year after spending the last three seasons as the defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys.

One other way Allen could burnish his legacy is by being a mentor to Washington’s talented rookie defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton, who was selected in the 2nd round (No. 36 overall) of the 2024 NFL draft.

Newton, 6-foot-2 and 304 pounds, was the 2023 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year at Illinois.

“Active interior defender with the potential to build on his disruptive production in college,” wrote NFL analyst Lance Zierlein. “Newton’s size and length don’t stand out, but he has shown a consistent ability to gain extension and set edges against bigger opponents. Newton is clever in setting up blockers and then beating them with sudden hand usage and foot quickness as both a run defender and a pass rusher.”

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