Keenan Allen enters his age-34 season in an offense with a wide range of outcomes where his declining physical metrics limit his fantasy upside. Fantasy managers can safely pass on Allen during drafts and take a wait-and-see approach on the waiver wire.
Should You Draft Keenan Allen in Fantasy Football?
When you’re looking at PFN’s Free Fantasy Mock Draft Simulator, Allen’s ADP is low. It’s 260 overall. PFN’s consensus board, using the boards from our fantasy analysts Kyle Soppe and Jason Katz, is a lot higher on Allen. It’s got him at 148 overall as far as fantasy football players go, and it’s got him at WR66 overall.
If you’re looking at what he did last year with the Chargers, he was WR37, which ironically enough is the exact ranking he had in 2024 as well with the Chicago Bears. He’s on the Colts now, no longer with the Chargers. Depending on how many people you’re in a league with, they might not even realize that Allen’s on the Colts, and I think this is a good opportunity for you to maybe take advantage of that fact and snag him in some of the later rounds.
Allen is not what he used to be, but he’s still one of those receivers who’s so advanced as a route runner. He knows how to get open at such a high level. His stem work, his ability to sink his hips going into his breaks, his acceleration coming out of them, and the way that he sells route concepts truly make him one of the greatest of the 21st century.
Even now, a step slower than he used to be, Keenan’s going to have to compete with the likes of Alec Pierce, Josh Downs, and Tyler Warren in that Colts offense. But even in that Chargers offense last year, where he was competing with Ladd McConkey, Quentin Johnston, and Oronde Gadsden, Allen was still able to put up some solid numbers.
At that ADP of 260, I’m 100% taking Allen. I recognize that might be slanted a little bit because he signed so late, and early drafts didn’t necessarily have him getting picked at all since he wasn’t with the team. But I do think that Allen is somebody worth taking a look into. He’s never going to be a consistent week-to-week starter in your standard 10-man or even 12-man leagues, but you could do way worse than him as a backup. I’m taking Allen in one of those later rounds in your fantasy football drafts this season.
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Keenan Allen’s Week 1 Fantasy Outlook
Analysis provided by PFN Analyst Kyle Soppe.
The ceiling for Michael Pittman last season wasn’t elite (3 WR1 finishes), but with 9 top-24 weeks, Allen is filling a role that has the potential to be interesting from a flex perspective.
I need to see it before I bet on it given his spot on the age curve and some target-earning concerns (not to mention the legal hot water that he found himself in toward the end of August). That said, if Daniel Jones looks as healthy as all reports suggest, this offense has top-10 potential, and if that’s the case, Allen is going to be in the high-floor, low-ceiling mix.
I’ll be a week (or two) late to that evaluation rather than early.
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Where Allen Ranks Among 2026 Wide Receivers
Allen sits outside our top 50 at wide receiver. Here are the last five on the PFN Consensus Board:
- Khalil Shakir | BUF
- Makai Lemon | PHI
- De’Zhaun Stribling | SF
- Jordan Addison | MIN
- Romeo Doubs | NE
Know the position inside and out with every WR, ranked, on PFN’s 2026 PPR Board.
