Allen joins Fleener to give Colts potent 1-2 punch at tight end

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sat Apr 28 22:09:27 GMT-04:00 2012

The common saying around the NFL is that it is a “copycat league.” Once one team gains a little bit of success in a particular area, the rest of the league will copy that for their own use.

Last season, the New England Patriots and quarterback Tom Brady showed just how effective two play-making tight ends could be as Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez combined for 205 receptions for 2,683 yards and 29 touchdowns, 20 of those by Gronknowski. The pair also combined for 117 rushing yards and a touchdown.

This weekend, the 2-14 Indianapolis Colts picked up quarterback Andrew Luck with the first overall pick of the NFL Draft, and then picked up Luck’s best friend and former Stanford teammate Coby Fleener with their next pick.

The Colts then took former Clemson tight end Dwayne AllenDwayne Allen
RS Jr. Tight End
#83 6-3, 255
Fayetteville, NC
View Full Profile with their third round pick (64th overall), giving Luck a pair of bookends he can grow with as the Colts rebuild their offense.

Allen was the winner of the John Mackey Award as the top tight end in the nation this past year as he and Fleener were both finalists for the award. The award is – ironically – named after a former Colts tight end.

"I haven't talked to the Colts since the combine,'' Allen said. "But that's the way it is sometimes. It feels great. It's ironic that the John Mackey recipient is going to John Mackey's team. It's a perfect fit and I'm going to do my best to maximize my opportunity.''

Colts head Chuck Pagano said he was pleased with getting the two best tight ends available.

“In this offense- if you watch how Heath Miller operates over at Pittsburgh- you can never have enough tight ends,” Pagano said. “We feel like we’ve got two great ones. If you’re going to go with multiple tight ends, you’ve got a guy that’s an inline guy- a Y tight end. I don’t know which one that is, we will know that at a later date. And, you’ve got a move tight end.

“The move guy can be on the line of scrimmage, he can be off the line of scrimmage and motion across, you can drift him back in the back field, and he can act just as David Johnson did for the Steelers and become a full back type. (Offensive coordinator) Bruce (Arians) is going to put that together just like he did in Pittsburgh and that thing will take care of itself.”

Allen didn’t attend the draft in New York, but got the news while visiting the home of former Clemson coach Chris Rumph, who is now at Alabama.

"It was already a good evening because of the spaghetti,” Allen told the Fayetteville Observer in a phone interview. “Kila Rumph is a great cook. But getting that call made it a great evening.''

Allen said he can't wait to see what Arians cooks up for the two tight ends.

"He said their offense has a lot of two tight end sets and he thought two dynamic guys like myself and Coby Fleener will be the perfect recipe to build a winning foundation on offense,'' Allen said.