Tight end Dwayne Allen will be traded to the New England Patriots as reported by NFL insider Ian Rapoport. Allen spent the first five years of his career with the Indianapolis Colts after being drafted in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft. The Colts will receive a fourth-round pick from the deal, while the Patriots receive both Allen and a sixth-round pick.
Details on the #Patriots trade for #Colts TE Dwayne Allen: A 4th rounder goes to the #Colts and #Pats get Allen & a 6th back.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 8, 2017
Dwayne Allen Traded to the New England Patriots
The beginning of Dwayne Allen’s career hasn’t gone as planned. In 2012, Allen was considered one of the top tight end prospects after catching eight touchdown passes in his third year in college. Former teammate Coby Fleener was also drafted in that same year, out of Stanford, just one round before Allen. The two tight ends were expected to form a strong duo and perform as Andrew Luck’s safety blankets and red zone targets. The magic never sparked, Fleener left in free agency for the New Orleans Saints last year, and now the Colts have decided to trade Allen to the reigning Super Bowl champions.
Allen has shown some sparks of potential, catching a career-high eight touchdown passes in 2014, but hasn’t built on that. After an awful 2015 season in which he played in 13 games and only managed to catch the ball 16 times, it was puzzling when the Colts signed him to a four-year, $29.4 million deal. A large portion of that deal, almost $9 million, was already paid to Allen last season, and almost all of the guaranteed $16 million is already his as well.
By making this trade, the New England Patriots can now officially move on from their one-year rental of tight end Martellus Bennett and can satisfy any doubt about who will play behind their All-Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski. Dwayne Allen has displayed flashes of red zone brilliance in the past and did catch another six touchdown passes last season. If there is any team that can finally get Dwayne Allen to reach a top tight end level, it is the Patriots.
Although it’s surprising the Colts dealt Allen to the Patriots, the trade itself isn’t as shocking. The Colts re-signed four-year pro Jack Doyle to a three-year $19 million deal yesterday, which indicated that Dwayne Allen might be on the move. Doyle broke out last season, catching 59 passes and 584 yards, which are both better numbers than any of Allen’s season totals. Doyle also caught five touchdown passes, which has the chance to go up now that Allen and his red zone presence won’t be around.
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