Born on born January 16, 1995, Jonathan Allen is an American football defensive tackle for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL).
He played collegiate football for Alabama, where he earned the 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship as well as multiple defensive player of the year honours.
Allen was born in Anniston, Alabama, and lived in Seattle, North Carolina, South Carolina, Pittsburgh, and Maryland before settling in Ashburn, Virginia, where he attended Stone Bridge High School.
When Allen was three years old, his parents divorced, and his mother was given custody of both him and his brother, Richard Allen III. He and his brother were both removed by child protective services when they were eight years old.
Before his father, US Army Sgt. 1st Class Richard Allen Jr., acquired full custody of Allen and his brother in 2004, he spent 10 months in foster care. He won the Virginia Gatorade Football Player of the Year award in 2012 as a senior. He recorded 308 tackles and 44 sacks throughout the course of his career.
Allen was a five-star prospect and one of the best in his class. He pledged to play football for the University of Alabama in college.
Allen was predicted by several NFL draft gurus to go in the top five after graduating from Alabama. Teams got concerned when he was found to have arthritis in one of his shoulders and underwent surgery on both two weeks before the combine, which caused his stock to drop.
He was regarded as the best defensive tackle by NFLDraftScout.com, Pro Football Focus, and Sports Illustrated. After Myles Garrett, he was regarded as the second-best defensive lineman by ESPN. Analysts and scouts predicted Allen to be a first-round pick despite the arthritis diagnosis.
Jonathan Allen’s Parents: Who Is Jonathan Allen’s Father, Richard Allen?
Richard Allen and Traci Allen are Jonathan’s parents. He hadn’t seen his mother since he was in the third grade. Jonathan was given legal custody by his military father, who also had Jonathan’s permission to play football. It was his stepmother who encouraged him to play.