Keenan Allen Returns to Chargers: Fantasy Football Outlook (2025)

Keenan Allen has agreed to a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Chargers, for whom he played the first 11 seasons of his career from 2013 to 2023. Allen will earn $8.52 million this season, according to Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network. Let’s explore the fantasy football impact Allen’s signing has had, as well as the outlook for Allen and several of his LA teammates.

Keenan Allen Returns to Chargers: Fantasy Football Impact & Outlook

Keenan Allen Outlook

The 33-year-old Allen showed last year he still has something left in the tank. In his first season with a team other than the Chargers, Allen had 70 catches for 744 yards and seven touchdowns in 15 games for the Bears.

Allen had a hefty 27.6% target share in the games he played. He drew 20 more targets than rookie Rome Odunze, a top-10 draft pick, despite playing in two fewer games. Allen ranked 40th in route win rate and 45th in separation, according to Fantasy Points Data.

In 2023, his last season playing with quarterback Justin Herbert and the Chargers, Allen had 150 targets, a career-high 108 catches, 1,243 yards and seven touchdowns.

Allen averaged 4.7 catches and 49.6 yards per game for the Bears last season, and it seems reasonable to expect similar per-game numbers this season. If he played all 17 games, that would put him at about 80 catches for 843 yards.

However, Allen hasn’t played a full season since 2019. Over his last eight seasons, he’s averaged 14.5 games.

I’m ranking Allen WR49 in half-point PPR and WR47 in full-point PPR. At age 33, Allen’s ceiling is probably limited, but based on his recent production, he seems unlikely to fall off a cliff, barring injury.

It also seems reasonable to expect something similar to the 8.1 targets per game Allen saw last year. Chargers offensive coordinator Greg Roman is known for being a run-heavy play-caller, but the Chargers were +0.2% in pass rate over expected last season, while the Bears were at -1.2%. Allen had to compete for targets with receivers DJ Moore and Odunze last season. This year, his primary target competition will be wide receiver Ladd McConkey.

Ladd McConkey & Co. Outlooks

The addition of Allen shouldn’t appreciably devalue Ladd McConkey, although it now seems unreasonable to expect significant target growth for the second-year receiver. In 16 games last year, McConkey had 112 targets, which ranked him 23rd in targets among wide receivers and 26th among all pass-catchers. McConkey remains a low-end WR1. I have him ranked WR11, behind A.J. Brown.

Allen’s arrival could make it hard for Tre Harris to pop. Although Allen plays mostly in the slot and Harris plays outside, it’s hard to envision Harris drawing more than a handful of targets in any game Allen and McConkey are both playing. I now have Harris ranked WR66 in half-point PPR.

With Allen in the fold and Harris favored to be the starting X receiver for the Chargers, Quentin Johnston no longer has much appeal as a late-round flier, and tight ends Tyler Conklin and Oronde Gadsden II fall into the undraftable category as well.

Quarterback Justin Herbert stands to benefit from Allen’s return, although modest passing volume keeps Herbert firmly in the QB2 realm for fantasy drafts. With the signing of Allen, I’ve bumped up Herbert one spot to QB16.

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