Keenan Allen is a starting wide receiver for the Los Angeles Chargers. He played high school football in Greensboro, North Carolina. He was considered to be a top defensive back in the country, and was planning to go play safety at Alabama, but changed his commitment to play wide receiver at Cal with his half-brother. Keenan Allen finished his Cal career after three seasons with impressive college stats, finishing with 2,570 yards receiving, third in school history. He also obtained an impressive 49.5% (95th percentile) College Dominator Rating. He suffered a PCL sprain towards the end of his senior year, and as a result he did not work out at the Scouting Combine. He worked out at Cal’s Pro Day which actually had an adverse effect on his draft stock as he ran a 4.71 40 Yard Dash, clearly set back by the injury. He also had his hand size measured at 10”. He fell to the third round of the NFL draft and was selected by the San Diego Chargers.
Keenan Allen exploded onto the scene his rookie year despite not getting any snaps during week one. He finished the first year with 71 receptions which led all rookies and broke the franchise record for receptions in a rookie season. He also broke the franchise rookie receiving yards record with 1,046 yards. They would lose to the broncos that year in the Divisional Round, but Allen still made his mark, becoming just the second rookie in NFL history to crest 100 receiving yards and two touchdowns in a playoff game. Just before his third year, he signed a four-year contract and unfortunately tore his ACL in the first game of the season but stormed back with a vengeance in the 2017 season. He finished the 2017 season fifth in targets (27.7% target share), third in fantasy points per game, and caught over one hundred receptions. Allen was awarded the NFL Comeback Player of the Year for his efforts.
Allen has established himself as one of the premier wide receivers of the NFL, completing four out of the last five seasons with 100 or more receptions, to go along with five Pro Bowl nominations. His next gen stats reflect an receiver that doesn’t go deep often, evidenced by few deep targets over 20 yards downfield: 18, 11, and 15 over the past three seasons.
In 2021, he played much more out of the slot, finishing with a 52.6% slot rate, No. 5 among all wide receivers. He has had an outstanding career and with a top quarterback on his side, he can continue to produce effectively in the second half of his career.
