2016 Houston Texans Free Agent Analysis: Jeff Allen Scouting Report

Yesterday, your Houston Texans signed Jeff Allen to a four-year, $28,000,000.00 deal ($12,000,000.00 of which is guaranteed).  I was guilty of thinking the Texans would re-sign Brandon Brooks, so I didn't give much thought to other free agent guards. Of course, Brooks left Houston for up to $40,000,000.00 ($21,000,000.00 of which is guaranteed) in Philadelphia, proving anew that one never knows what will happen once free agency begins.

Fortunately, SB Nation has a site devoted to the team for which Allen used to toil, and Arrowhead Pride put substantial time into analyzing Jeff Allen's contributions with the Chiefs before he became a free agent. If you want to learn more about the guard the Texans just got, I strongly suggest you check out this post. A few excerpts to pique your interest:

Allen was a big part of the run game taking a front seat down the stretch as the season went along. He's a very, very good run blocker. He demonstrates very good strength to get push, the agility to move to the second level and take out linebackers or secondary players, and a real attitude. When I talked about Jah Reid playing guard, one of my favorite aspects of his game was that he looks to bury people. Allen is the same way, and it showed up on film.

The most obvious strength Allen has, whether he's playing RT or G, is his strength. He has a great deal of grown man in his game, and it shows up. When he's on the outside, he's able to freeze smaller edge rushers once he gets his hands on them. They just aren't able to get anywhere with him because he can so effortlessly redirect them. With larger interior defenders, Allen is often able to stonewall bull rushes, even when he's taken at a disadvantage initially.

If I were to say Allen has a weakness, I'd say it's his lateral movement. When he plays RT it becomes a lot more noticeable. He's just a great side-to-side guy with his feet. Again, he's a lot like Jah Reid in this regard. However, he shows more quickness than Reid and doesn't let it get in the way of his functionality at RT. And when he's at G it's not really noticeable. At G, in the phone booth, Allen looks like he's at home.

In short, Jeff Allen was solid at RT and very good at G for the Chiefs in 2015. His versatility and ability were a big part of the offense transitioning from blech to competent down the stretch. He doesn't lose much, and multiple times a game he buries a defender and nearly starts a fight. I love it.

Does any of that get you more excited about Allen's potential with the Texans?