With Minshew Mania sweeping Jacksonville, another Jaguars rookie has flown far below the radar: Josh Allen.
The rookie edge rusher isn't getting nearly the pop as a potential Defensive Rookie of The Year candidate that he should.
Compare Allen's stats to those of San Francisco 49ers edge rusher Nick Bosa, the favorite for DROY:
Allen: 39 tackles, 10 sacks, 2 forced fumbles
Bosa: 41 tackles, 9 sacks, 3 passes defended, one INT, one forced fumble.
That's far closer than the hype-machine would have the world believe. One main issue is Allen, Pro Bowl snub, plays for a losing Jaguars team in Jacksonville, while Bosa has helped his Niners to the playoffs in San Francisco.
Allen, the No. 7 overall pick out of Kentucky, told NFL Network's Good Morning Football on Wednesday that he's used to being ignored by bigger markets.
"I can't control that. I can just control what I do on Sunday," Allen said. "You think about my college career, it's been like this my whole life. It's nothing new to me. I still got to keep fighting every week, and fight for my teammates, first off. Play for them. I'm just going to keep doing what I do."
Allen has been a demon off the edge in Jacksonville, piling up 41 pressures and 11 QB hits to go along with his 10 sacks. The teaming of the dynamic rookie with star edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue has the potential to give opponents fits for years to come, if the Jags can ensure Ngakoue -- a pending free agent -- sticks around.
Allen was in the middle of a potential monster game in Sunday's come-from-behind victory against the Oakland Raiders but had to exit with a stinger early after colliding with teammate Calais Campbell. Allen was able to return but wasn't as productive. Pre-injury he racked up two tackles and a sack. After returning, he earned just one tackle.
Allen said he's good to go for Sunday's tilt with Atlanta.
"I'm good. It's just football," he said of the injury. "Things like that happen all the time to a lot of great players. So, I pride myself on finishing games and just to fight through everything I can. I feel that was a real averse time for me and I'm still fighting. I'm going to be able to play this week."
While a lot has gone wrong for Jacksonville this season, Allen is a shining bright spot amid the black backdrop, even if his masterful season doesn't end in a DROY award.
