Zach Allen

BIOGRAPHY

Zach Allen was born on August 20th, 1997, in New Canaan, Connecticut. He is a defensive end in the National Football League.

During high school, Allen was named the 2014 Connecticut Gatorade Player of the Year. He was named a captain as a senior. He set the school record for career sacks with 33, the single-season record with 13.5 in 2014 and tied the single-game record with four on Thanksgiving Day in 2014.

During his freshman season in 2015, Allen played in all 12 games, primarily as a member of the special teams unit. He participated in 66 plays on special teams and 46 plays at defensive end. In the first game of his collegiate career, Allen registered an assisted tackle in the season opener vs. Maine.

In 2016 during his sophomore season, Allen played in all 13 games, making one start against Georgia Tech. In 2017 as a junior, Allen Started 13 games at defensive end. He was ranked second nationally among all defensive linemen with 100 tackles … led BC with six sacks and tied for 10th in BC single-season history with 15.5 tackles-for-loss. He was a team-high with 11 tackles and 1.5 TFLs in the 39-16 victory over UConn at Fenway Park.

During his senior season in 2018, Allen played in all 12 regular-season games. On the year, Allen proved to be still quite productive, recording 26 solo tackles, 35 assists, and 15.0 tackles for loss. Allen had a career-high for sacks in 2018, recording 6.5, a 0.5 improvement over his 2016 record. Allen tallied one interception, which was returned for 6 yards, and deflected a career-high seven passes, doubling all of his previous years' deflected passes, combined. He also had 2 Fumble recoveries, and his first career forced a fumble.

The Arizona Cardinals selected Allen in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Following training camp, Allen was named a starting defensive end to start the season. Allen started for the Cardinals in his debut during Week 1 of the 2019 NFL season against the Detroit Lions. During the game, Allen recorded three solo tackles. He played in the first four games before suffering a neck injury in Week 4. He missed the next six games before being placed on injured reserve on November 13, 2019. In Week 1 against the San Francisco 49ers, Allen recorded his first career sack on Jimmy Garoppolo during the 24–20 win. He was placed on injured reserve on October 27, 2020. He was activated on November 28, 2020. In Week 15 against the Philadelphia Eagles, Allen led the team with 11 tackles and sacked Jalen Hurts once during the 33–26 win. Allen entered the 2021 season as a starting defensive end. He played in 15 games with 14 starts, recording 48 tackles, four sacks, and three fumble recoveries.

Allen signed with the Denver Broncos in 2023.