Chargers News: Keenan Allen Among 2023's Most Underrated Players
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The start of the new NFL season is finally just a few days away! The season will kick off with the Detroit Lions taking on the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday night, followed by a massive slate of games on Sunday.
Within that comes your Los Angeles Chargers season opener as they prepare to take on the Miami Dolphins from Sofi Stadium. As the year starts, the Chargers have set lofty expectations for themselves this season. They want to build off the success from last year that saw them reach the postseason.
In order to do that, it will take the entire team working together as a unit, and they will need health to be on their side as well. One of the players that the team needs to remain healthy is All-Pro wide receiver Keenan Allen.
Allen was limited to just ten games last season, and it seems that some have forgotten how good he really is. However, David Latham of Last Word on Sports doesn’t seem to be one of those people and thinks Allen may be underrated at this point.
“Keenan Allen might not be the most exciting name on the list of most underrated players in the NFL, as aging veterans aren’t nearly as exciting as untested youth. However, based on all the advanced metrics out there, Keenan Allen still has a few more good years left in his tank. Last year, the former third-round pick finished with a 27.8% target rate and a 28.4% target share while recording 2.35 yards per route run and an 84.8 PFF grade. Now that he has a NFL-caliber offensive coordinator in Kellen Moore, Allen should receive better targets and more scoring opportunities.”
Allen has put up more than 1,000 receiving yards in four of his last six NFL seasons. He has also put up at least 100 catches in the same four of the previous six years.
He remains a legit option for this Chargers team to throw the ball, too, and is one of the security blankets for quarterback Justin Herbert. Having some other talented receivers like Mike Williams and others alongside him should only allow him to thrive this year.
The Bolts offense is meant to sling the ball all over the field, with Allen being the number one in the system. Sleep on Allen at your own risk, and he will prove otherwise this season if he can remain on the field.
