Devon Allen might be a football player for the Eagles now, but he’s far more well known for his trademark speed. The 27-year-old is an Olympian-level, finishing in the top five in each of the last two Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo. Allen’s all-time personal best of 12.84 seconds on the 110-meter hurdle is the third-fastest in history.
Already a world-class track star, Allen decided to try his hand at football this year. After running a 4.35 on the 40-yard dash at Oregon’s spring pro day, the Eagles were impressed enough to bring the lightning-quick runner onto their roster. After all, speed kills in football, and Allen has it in spades.
On Sunday afternoon, with the Eagles taking on the Browns (+1) in the preseason, Allen’s speed was quite evident when he positively blew by the entire Cleveland secondary on a very easy deep touchdown:
Devon Allen shows off his speed with a 55 yard TD on his first target of the game! 💨
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) August 21, 2022
Holy cow. I don’t know that I’ve seen anyone already in the NFL who can burn professional players so casually. It’s almost as if the Browns’ defenders were toasted the moment Allen started running, as he turned on the jets in the blink of an eye.
Here’s another mind-boggling angle showing off Allen’s ridiculous speed:
Devon Allen turned on the jets. 💨 pic.twitter.com/Gs9fK0By65
— Victor Williams (@ThePhillyPod) August 21, 2022
To put the cherry on top, Allen apparently got to keep the ball from his first NFL touchdown:
Devon Allen gets to keep the football from his 55 yard TD catch
His first NFL TD after graduating from Oregon 6 years ago
The Olympic hurdler says he is really starting to grasp the offense now
“It was super excited. Amazing” pic.twitter.com/1rWDedK7Zm
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) August 21, 2022
What a special moment.
If Allen’s bringing this speed to Sundays, the Eagles might have themselves yet another electric weapon to utilize.