To no one's surprise, the Washington Redskins are keeping one of their defensive stars on roster. On Monday, the team announced that they had exercised the fifth-year option on Jonathan Allen's contract. 

When healthy, Allen has been one of the best players on Washington's defense. In 36 career games, the defensive tackle has recorded 139 combined tackles and 15 sacks. The former SEC Defensive Player of the Year was selected with the No. 17 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. Much to the surprise of the Redskins, the potential top-five prospect fell all the way to the middle of the first round due to concerns about his shoulders. His career got off to a slow start, as a Lisfranc injury knocked him out for the majority of his rookie season, but he came back with vengeance. In 2018, he recorded 61 combined tackles and a career-high eight sacks.

Since 2018, Allen is tied for the fourth-most multi-sack games among defensive tackles, and has the fifth-most games with multiple tackles for loss by a defensive tackle during that same timeframe. Allen's 14.0 sacks are sixth-most by a defensive tackle since 2018.

Washington is of course bringing even more talent to the defensive line, as the Redskins selected former Ohio State pass rusher Chase Young with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Widely regarded as the best prospect in this class, Young recorded 40.5 tackles for loss and 30.5 sacks during his three seasons in Columbus. While this addition will naturally help the Redskins add to their sack total, it will also help the other defensive linemen. 

The San Francisco 49ers had the best defensive line in the NFL last year, and it was a big reason they made it all the way to Super Bowl LIV. Adding Nick Bosa with the No. 2 overall pick last year helped players like DeForest Buckner and Arik Armstead take their games to another level -- and we could see something similar in Washington.

Additionally, the Redskins' defensive line will be playing a little differently in 2020. With new head coach Ron Rivera comes the change from a 3-4 base defense to a 4-3. That means there will be four down linemen instead of just three. Allen is currently listed as a "defensive end," but could move inside to team up with Daron Payne to control the A and B gaps while Young and possibly someone like Montez Sweat play defensive end. The defensive line is truly the Redskins' biggest strength, and they will be able to showcase it even more in a 4-3 scheme.