We are in the home stretch of our series counting down the 25 most important Chicago Bears players for 2024. At number six we have wide receiver Keenan Allen.
The Chicago Bears are inching so much closer to the start of their training camp. We are inching closer to the end of our countdown of the 25 most important players for the team in 2024. The list is now down to number six. There we have wide receiver Keenan Allen.
Keenan Allen was the diamond of the veterans General Manager Ryan Poles brought in to overhaul the offense. He wanted another big-time veteran to pair up with D.J. Moore. Both of them will now help in rookie quarterback Caleb Williams’ development.
Allen is a six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver. He has been through the wars and has helped in the development of young quarterbacks. When he was with the Los Angeles Chargers he helped one of the brightest stars in the league, Justin Herbert. Now he is asked to do it again with Williams.
In four seasons with Herbert, Allen was one of his favorite receivers. Allen had 380 catches for 4,125 yards and 25 touchdowns. That happened despite having a season in which he missed a big chunk due to injury. In 2022, he missed seven games. Still, he managed to haul in 66 catches for 752 yards and 4 touchdowns. In three of the four seasons with Herbert, Allen made it to the Pro Bowl.
© Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
Now the Chicago Bears hope Allen has some of that magic for Williams. He will be a big part of what could be the best trio of wide receivers in the NFL. He joins Moore and another rookie, Rome Odunze. The thought is that they have big seasons and accumulate a lot of yards this season.
Allen is an elite route-runner. While he does not have elite speed, he uses his quickness, athleticism, and body control to run routes so crispy that he creates separation. Defenders get caught off guard and suddenly see Allen blow past them, creating a big play.
Allen will be great for Williams. He will teach WIlliams about ball placement. Things are different in the NFL than they are in college and Allen will show him the difference. We all remember the video that went viral earlier during OTAs. WIlliams threw a floater to Allen that was also underthrown.
“hell naw” 😭 he misses herbo so bad pic.twitter.com/CDdYb3808l
— ❤️🔥 (@MALIKN8BERS) June 8, 2024
Allen showed his displeasure and people started speculating that Allen might want to rather be back in Los Angeles. However, he was giving the rookie some tough love. There is no sense in sugarcoating things. Williams has the keys to a Ferrari and he better learn how to drive it quickly. In that case, Allen was helping Williams.
© Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
There is sure to be more of that openness between Allen and Williams. Allen wants to win. He has more seasons behind him than he does ahead of him. He has yet to compete for a Super Bowl. He is in his twelfth season and has only four playoff games under his belt.
Allen will also be great for the young receivers. They can look at him and see what a real professional is like. Just like Moore, they only have to look at how Allen prepares himself before a game and how he practices. There are some good young receivers on the roster like Tyler Scott. Scott has a lot of untapped potential.
Scott showed flashes of what he could do last year in his rookie season. They were too few and far between, though. The Chicago Bears would love to see more consistency from him. Imagine having four wide receivers making big plays. Scott can look up to the elder statesman in Allen and learn some of his habits.
It seems that the Chargers are already missing Allen’s leadership. Things are in flux with them now that Allen (as well as Mike Williams) is not there anymore. Additionally, they have a new coach in Jim Harbaugh. The Los Angeles Chargers’ loss is the Chicago Bears’ gain. Poles did a great job of leveraging Los Angeles’ salary cap difficulties to make a great trade (giving up just a fourth-round pick in return).
© Jonathan Hui-USA TODAY Sports
There is a question as to whether Allen is a one-year rental. Even if he is, he will be a great pickup for one season. However, he has expressed interest in extending his stay in Chicago. He also changed representation. That move is not made if he isn’t thinking about continuing his career.
I’m going to play as long as I can. As far as an extension, I’m going to let the play speak for itself, and if they offer me something that I like, we’ll go from there.
Keenan Allen will be a productive player for the Chicago Bears. Additionally, he will be one of the leaders on and off the field. Young players will learn from him and the veterans will elevate their game to try to reach his level. If it does happen, there will be a lot of fun around the franchise in 2024.
Previous rankings: #25: Tory Taylor #24: Velus Jones #23: Jack Sanborn #22: Gerald Everett #21: Kyler Gordon #20: Cairo Santos #19: Kevin Byard #18: Nate Davis #17: Jaquan Brisker #16: Austin Booker #15:Tyrique Stevenson #14: Darnell Wright #13: Khalil Herbert #12: Tremaine Edmunds #11: ColeKmet #10: Gervon Dexter #9: Rome Odunze #8: Braxton Jones #7: D’Andre Swift
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