Keenan Allen is one of the top free agents remaining on the open market and, despite his age, still has some juice left in his tank. A third-round pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, the California product was one of the league’s more reliable chain-moving receivers at the peak of his career. While he’s no longer a perennial 1,000-yard threat, he proved he can still be effective in the right role. After spending the 2024 season with the Chicago Bears, Allen reunited with the Chargers and quarterback Justin Herbert for 2025, finishing the season with 81 receptions for 777 yards and four touchdowns on 122 targets.
Now entering his age-34 season, Keenan Allen is much closer to the end of his career than the beginning, but he can still help a team looking for more depth at the wide receiver position. Put simply, there aren’t enough good pass-catching weapons to go around, and while the present-day version of Allen shouldn’t be leading any passing attacks, he’s more than capable of being a solid second or third option on a depth chart. With this in mind, Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox believes the New Orleans Saints or New York Giants could make a move for the six-time Pro Bowler.
“Keenan Allen would be a terrific option for a team looking to develop a young signal-caller in 2026 – and it doesn’t sound like he’ll limit his options to the California coast,” Knox writes. “Teams looking to pair a young QB with a reliable possession receiver should be very interested in Allen.”
Saints, Giants Named Top Fit For Keenan Allen
Don’t look now, but the New Orleans Saints look like a team on the rise. After Drew Brees called it a career, the team attempted to tread water at the game’s most important position by rolling with unremarkable veterans like Jameis Winston, Andy Dalton, and Derek Carr. They finally embraced a young option with Louisville’s Tyler Shough, and the former second-round pick showed plenty of promise as a rookie. While it’s too early to say whether or not he’ll be a definitive franchise savior, he looked the part in the back half of the 2025 season.
Taking over for Spencer Rattler, Shough made nine starts on the season, going 5-4 while completing 67.6% of his passes for 2,384 yards, 10 touchdowns, six interceptions, and a 74.6 PFF grade, the 19th-best mark in the league out of 38 eligible passers. He was the league’s best rookie quarterback by just about every metric and could turn into a legitimate franchise quarterback if he takes the Year 2 leap.
While Shough’s talents will ultimately determine whether or not he becomes the long-awaited heir to Drew Brees, someone like Keenan Allen could help this team and the quarterback’s future. You can never have too many pass-catching weapons, and Allen’s skillset perfectly complements the rest of the depth chart.
Fit With the Giants
The jury is still out on whether or not Ole Miss’s Jaxson Dart is a legitimate franchise quarterback, but the former first-round pick showed plenty of promise as a rookie. Starting in 12 games, Dart finished his inaugural campaign with a 4-8 record while completing 63.7% of his passes for 2,272 yards, 15 touchdowns, and five interceptions. He did all this despite losing first-round pick Malik Nabers early in the season and developing a quick connection with Wan’Dale Robinson.
Fast forward a few months, and now Robinson is in Tennessee while Nabers is still recovering from his torn ACL. Developing young quarterbacks is never easy, but the process is simpler when the passer has a reliable target. Keenan Allen is not the player he once was, but the former third-round pick remains a reliable possession receiver who could develop a fast connection with Dart.
