UGA Football LB CJ Allen Picked No. 53rd Overall by the Colts in the 2026 NFL Draft

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Former Georgia Bulldog offensive lineman CJ Allen was selected No. 53 overall in the 2026 NFL Draft by the Colts. 

Allen is the most recent in a long lineage of highly touted and highly productive linebackers from the University of Georgia. He is also the last in a string of Butkus Award finalists. Allen is the second player from Georgia’s 2023 recruiting class to be drafted. 

Kirby Smart looked to Allen as a true freshman in the 2023 season to replace the injured Jamon Dumas-Johnson - a two-year starter and two-time national champion for the Dawgs. The truth is, Allen was already stealing reps from Dumas-Johnson before he got hurt late in the season. The freshman never looked back, and he was the alpha of Georgia’s defense in 2024 and 2025. 

Allen’s production grew in each season. In part-time duties, he secured 41 tackles as a true freshman. In 2024, he was second on the team in tackles behind first-round safety Malaki Starks. Last season, he led the team with 88 total tackles and sacked the quarterback 3.5 times. 

The inside linebacker possesses a compact and bulky frame. He doesn’t have prototypical size for an NFL linebacker, although that blueprint is not as important for inside backers as it is for other positions. He is 6’1” and weighs about 235 pounds. 

There was a lot of negative chatter around Allen during the pre-draft process. He elected not to work out at the NFL scouting combine and then followed that up by only doing individual position drills at Georgia’s pro day in March. One video became popular from pro day, indicating that Allen was not a very fluid athlete. Clearly, that did not affect his draft stock too much.

Reports later came out that Allen clocked a sub 4.5-second 40-yard dash time during a private workout in April, putting some doubts about his athleticism to bed.