PFF went back to 2006 to find the highest-graded rookie for each team during that span. Here is who that player was for the Colts.
Pro Football Focus went all the way back to 2006 to find the highest-graded rookie on each of the 32 NFL teams during that span. Without looking, any guesses on which Colts player that might be?
If you guessed tight end Dwayne Allen, who the Colts selected in the third round of the 2012 NFL draft, you win. Here is what PFF had to say about Allen:
“The Colts drafted quarterback Andrew Luck first overall in the 2012 NFL Draft and then doubled up on tight ends in Rounds 2 (Coby Fleener) and 3 (Allen). Allen was the more productive player as a rookie, finishing fourth on the team in targets (70), receptions (49), yards (572) and third in touchdowns (3). His 84.4 run-blocking grade ranked among the top 10 tight ends for the season, as well.”
As PFF highlights, Allen had a productive rookie season, impacting both the passing and running games. Unfortunately, the following year, Allen missed 15 games due to a hip injury.
He would record 40 receptions, 485 yards, and an impressive nine touchdowns upon his return in 2014. In 2015, his production took a step back, but the next season, Allen had 35 catches, 406 yards, and six more touchdowns.
Allen would continue to deal with injuries beyond that 2013 season, missing eight games from 2014 to 2016. The yard and reception totals that Allen posted his rookie season ended up as career highs. By PFF’s run-blocking metric, his grade fluctuated between being quite good to around league average.
The 2016 season was Allen’s last in Indianapolis after spending five seasons with the Colts. Allen then appeared in 29 games during the 2017 and 2018 seasons with New England, totaling 13 receptions for 113 yards and a score.
In March of 2019, Allen was signed by the Dolphins to a two-year deal but was released with an injury settlement that August.
Looking at this year’s incoming rookie class for the Colts, perhaps Laiatu Latu or Adonai Mitchell can challenge Allen’s 2012 rookie season for title of highest-graded first year player.
See which legends made the cut in our all-time Clemson football roster, starting with the offensive starters and backups.
A program with a long, rich history, Clemson has seen a lot of great teams with a lot of incredible talent over the years as the program has developed into a marquee name in college football.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Tigers have had some exceptional players who have helped Clemson achieve greatness. From the freshman who led his team to a national championship in Trevor Lawrence to Jerry Butler and “The Catch,” Clemson has seen some remarkable offensive talents come through the program.
Becoming a premier program more recently under current head coach Dabo Swinney, Clemson has seen many of the program’s best offensive talent suit up for the Tigers in the past couple of decades.
Wondering what an all-time Clemson roster would look like? We’ve got you covered! Clemson Wire and the rest of our College Wire sites recently put together our all-time program rosters.
Here’s a look at our choices for the offensive starters and backups on Clemson football’s all-time roster:
For the longest time at Clemson, the standard for playing the tight end position was Bennie Cunningham. There is a strong argument he still is the standard, despite the big numbers Dwayne Allen and Jordan Leggett both put up in the last decade. From …
For the longest time at Clemson, the standard for playing the tight end position was Bennie Cunningham. There is a strong argument he still is the standard, despite the big numbers Dwayne Allen and Jordan Leggett both put up in the last decade.
From 1973-’75, the late Bennie Cunningham caught 64 passes for 1,044 yards and scored eight touchdowns on his way to being named the first two-time First-Team All-American and the first Consensus All-American in Clemson history.
Cunningham was ahead of his time.
At 6-foot-5, 250-pounds, the Seneca, S.C., native could do it all – block, catch and run. Also, he did it in an era when running the football was the primary mode of operation in college football. In those days, Clemson ran a split-veer triple-option offense.
From 1973-’75, the late Bennie Cunningham caught 64 passes for 1,044 yards and scored eight touchdowns on his way to being named the first two-time First-Team All-American and the first Consensus All-American in Clemson history. (file photo)
Even though Cunningham played on Clemson teams that were not always good, he was. He led the Tigers in receptions in 1973 and ’74 and in both catches and yards in 1974, his first All-American season. He had another All-American season in 1975 and was later picked by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the 28th overall pick in the 1976 NFL Draft – still the only tight end in Clemson history to be taken in the first round of an NFL Draft.
But could that change in the years to come?
No disrespect to guys like Michael Palmer, Dwayne Allen and Jordan Leggett, but Clemson appears to have maybe its greatest collection of tight ends at one time.
Led by another Seneca product in Braden Galloway, the Tigers are potentially as talented at the tight end position as they ever have been. Behind Galloway is Davis Allen, Jaelyn Lay, Sage Ennis and Jake Briningstool.
Do any of those five have the talent and skill to be the next Cunningham? Maybe so. Maybe not. Time will tell.
However, there have been glimpses that show, at the very least, Clemson potentially has another Dwayne Allen and Jordan Leggett on the team.
Galloway (6-4, 240) is a quick-twitch, very fluid receiver. A former basketball player, he is athletic and fast and uses that to his advantage in the passing game, similar to Leggett (2013-’16), who holds the tight end records for career catches, yards and touchdowns at Clemson, as well as single-season marks in yards. He also tied Dwayne Allen’s record for touchdowns in a single season by a tight end.
From 2013-’16, Jordan Leggett set Clemson records for a tight end with 112 catches for 1,598 yards and 18 touchdowns. He also holds the single-season mark for yards (736), which he set in 2016. (file photo)
“In fairness to (Galloway), and he said it, he did not start playing football until his sophomore year (of high school),” Clemson tight ends coach and offensive coordinator Tony Elliott said. “He played wideout, he played quarterback and so a lot of the stuff he is doing, even from a receiver perspective is still some new stuff to him. But he is very fluid and can run.
“I would say he is probably as fast, if not faster than Leggett. But he is not quite as tall and as big.”
Still, in just his second full season, Galloway caught 27 passes for 369 yards and two touchdowns. That was ahead of Leggett’s mark in his second season when he hauled in 14 passes back in 2014 for 161 yards and one touchdown.
Davis Allen is very similar in stature, size and technique as Dwayne Allen (2009-’11). The junior stands 6-foot-6 and weighs 250 pounds.
Like Dwayne Allen, who was a Consensus First-Team All-American and Mackey Award winner in 2011, did in his second season at Clemson, Davis Allen showed tremendous development as a pass catcher. He went from five catches for 53 yards and no touchdowns as a freshman, to 16 catches for 247 yards and four touchdowns in 2020.
“He is the standard of what you are looking for at the point of attack, from a tight end perspective,” Elliot said about Davis Allen. “He is very versatile. He can play the H or play what you call the Y, the attached guy, and be very productive. You can isolate him one-on-one with defensive ends and he is going to hold his own.
“I think if we can get him up to speed on where he needs to be from a receiver standpoint, because you have to look at him. He played defensive end (in high school). He was in a run-oriented tight end kind of position in high school, so I think that the potential to be like a Dwayne Allen is there. We just got to develop him a little bit more.”
And who knows. Maybe one of them will become the next Bennie Cunningham. Of course, being the next Dwayne Allen or Jordan Leggett is not too shabby, either.
Dwayne Allen finished his Clemson career as the Tigers’ all-time leader for a tight end in receptions (93), yards (1,079) and touchdowns (12). He still holds the single-season mark for catches (50 in 2011) and touchdowns (8 in 2011). Allen was a Consensus First-Team All-American in 2011 and won the John Mackey Award as the nation’s best tight end. (file photo)
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