Keenan Allen is one of those wide receivers who puts up great numbers but is often left out of the elite conversations. He isn’t quite as flashy as other wide receivers like Odell Beckham and DeAndre Hopkins, who seem to make highlight-reel catches every week. Still, when healthy, Allen is as consistent and reliable as they come in fantasy football. With another year in a high-powered offense led by quarterback Philip Rivers, Allen is in for another great year in fantasy.
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Don’t Sleep on Keenan Allen in Fantasy Football for 2019
An Almost Top-Ten Season
Last year, Allen punched in a respectable WR14 finish with the Los Angeles Chargers. As a whole, that is kind of disappointing, considering players like Tyler Lockett and Brandin Cooks had better finishes than him and were drafted later. However, his finish doesn’t tell the whole story.
Allen was hurt at the beginning of week 15’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs. It looked like he caught a touchdown on the play, but it was ruled incomplete. It was a Thursday night game, so technically, Allen didn’t even miss a week, as he came back against the Baltimore Ravens week 16. However, he didn’t look like himself the remainder of the regular season.
He didn’t go over 65 yards or catch a touchdown the final two weeks of the year. Prior to that, there were only three weeks where Allen didn’t total at least 65 yards, so his finish really skewed his numbers. Prior to his injury, he was on pace for the WR10 finish. If he stays healthy for all 16 games, he has a good shot at that in 2019.
Injury-Riddled Career?
But admittedly, that is a huge “if.” Or is it? Allen only managed to appear in nine games total during the 2015 and 2016 seasons. The injuries were freak injuries though, and not necessarily deserving of the “injury-prone” tag that players with say, chronic soft-tissue issues have.
Allen was on track for a great season in 2015 before a rupturing his kidney eight games into the year. He accumulated 725 yards and four touchdowns, which were good for the seventh-best wide receiver up to that point in fantasy. He was eager to get back to business in 2016. However, the season ended as soon as it began, as Allen tore his ACL in week one.
He came back and put up the best season in his career 2017 though. He had 102 catches and came up just seven yards shy of 1,400 receiving yards. This was good for a WR3 finish, with only DeAndre Hopkins and Antonio Brown scoring more points than him at the wide receiver position.
Putting his injuries in perspective, aside from 2015 and 2016, Allen has missed three games in his career.
Keenan Allen ADP and Outlook
Currently, Allen is looking at an ADP of about 28OVR, and WR10. This puts him right behind guys like T.Y. Hilton, Brown, and Mike Evans. He has a good shot at outscoring every one of these players. WR10 seems like his floor, but he can easily cash in on a top-five finish similar to 2017.
Brown is on a new team with a questionable supporting cast. Hilton is one of the more up-and-down wide receivers from year-to-year. Evans is dealing with a new coach who just came out of retirement and a quarterback who hasn’t even proven he can stay on the field.
Allen, on the other hand, is coming into the year with mostly the same supporting cast as last season. This is an offense that will put up a ton of points and could get into a few shootouts. They play the Kansas City Chiefs, and reigning MVP Patrick Mahomes twice. They also go against top quarterbacks like Andrew Luck, Ben Roethlisberger, and Aaron Rodgers. Allen is a player fantasy team owners will want to have in their lineup week in and week out.
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