San Diego Chargers: Keenan Allen due for big year

Out of the University of California, Keenan Allen surprised many people during his rookie season. Allen and his 1,046 yards and eight receiving touchdowns earned him huge consideration for Rookie of the Year honors by the Associated Press as well Sporting News and the Pro Football Writers Association. And although he was a runner-up in the official Rookie of the Year voting by the Associated Press, Allen still captured the Pepsi NEXT NFL Rookie of the Year award.

It was Allen’s receiving presence that helped Philip Rivers and the Bolts reach the postseason for the first time since 2009 and the first time winning a playoff game since 2008.

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In total, Allen caught six passes or more five times and set Chargers rookie records for 100-yard receiving games (5) and yards (1,046).

And while Malcom Floyd‘s absence was probably a reason for Allen’s production, there is no doubt that Allen earned his title as top SD receiver in 2013. Allen lead all rookies in receptions (71), showing he could translate his college success at Cal to the playing field in San Diego.

But in 2014, Allen suffered a major drop off in production, catching 77 receptions for just 783 yards and four touchdowns (263 less yards and half of the touchdowns he scored in 2013). Allen did catch six more passes, but failed to turn those passes into any big gains. Call it a sophomore slump, but I believe Allen has much more talent than his 2014 stat sheet showed us. According to Sporting Charts, Allen had only two drops on 105 targets in 2013 (1.9% drop rate) as compared to just one drop on 121 targets in 2014 (0.8% drop rate).

What’s interesting to note is that Allen had 16 more passes thrown his way in 2014, but caught only six more receptions than in 2013. Perhaps it isn’t Allen whose skills are diminishing, but rather Philip Rivers.

Either way though, Allen’s average yards per catch declined noticeably from 14.7 in 2013 to 10.2 in 2014.

According to Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune, QB Philip Rivers “noted that defenses paid Allen more respect. Just two games ago, for example, the great Darrelle Revis followed Allen wherever he lined up. At the time, Allen was coming off an 11-catch performance in San Diego’s 34-33 victory over the Ravens. Revis said the Patriots, disciplined, different and smart, took heed.

Said Rivers: ‘I don’t think any of the top corners would’ve followed him all around the field last year. This year, you have Revis and guys that are top corners in this league matching up with him. So, it just makes it that much more difficult to give him the ball in wide-open spaces.'”

With that stated, there is genuine reason why Allen struggled to meet his 2013 stats. The fact that Antonio Gates, Malcom Floyd and Eddie Royal all had great seasons did not help matters, either.

In the long run though, whether it be increased corner coverage or something else entirely, Allen needs to step up his yards-after-catch in 2015 in order for the Chargers to be successful. Allen has garnered shut-down corner attention and therefore must play like a break-away receiver. The Chargers have been plagued by excuses and excuses for season after season.

It’s time to step up.

I truly believe that Allen can without a doubt be a 1,200-yard, 10-touchdown type of guy for the Chargers. If you don’t believe me, take a look at his resume.

While at Northern Guilford High School in North Carolina, Allen was a five-star recruit according to ESPN, Rivals and Scout ranked No. 5 in the country on the Rivals250 list, while checking in as both the nation’s top safety and best overall player from North Carolina.

Sep 14, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen (13) runs after making a catch as Seattle Seahawks middle linebacker Bobby Wagner (54) defends during the first quarter at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

As a junior, K.A. had 15 pass breakups, 64 tackles, three forced fumbles and nine interceptions to earn All-State honors defensively as a junior, while adding 42 receptions for 880 yards and 14 touchdown catches, as well as 644 rushing yards and 12 TDs on the ground on just 39 carries (16.5 yards per carry).

Allen was given an invitation to play in the Under Armour All-American Bowl after a senior season with 145 tackles and eight interceptions on defense and an unbelievable 53 offensive touchdowns to lead the Nighthawks to a 3A Mid-State Conference championship and finish with a 12-2 overall record.

Allen was then recruited by the University of California, Berkeley (more commonly known as ‘Cal’) and excelled mightily as a receiver and all-around returner.

Allen went on to rank as “Cal’s all-time leader with 205 receptions, while ranking third on the school’s career list with 2,570 receiving yards and seventh with 17 touchdown catches. Allen totaled 3,458 all purpose yards (104.8 per game) to rank just outside the school’s all-time top 10; added 30 rushes for 258 yards (7.7 ypr) and two touchdowns on the ground, 21 punt returns for 252 yards including a career-long 69-yard touchdown return against Southern Utah as a junior; and 18 kick returns for 406 yards including a long of 61 versus Arizona State also as a freshman” (according to Allen’s Cal bio).

The Chargers offensive line is much improved over last season and should give Rivers adequate time to complete his passes to Allen. The signing of Orlando Franklin as well as

Not to mention, with Jacoby Jones, Austin Pettis, Stevie Johnson, Dontrelle Inman and Malcom Floyd helping the Chargers receiving needs, Allen is going to face some single-coverage sets in 2015.

Don’t forget, Antonio Gates will free up some room for Allen to come in on a short slant.

And while the additions of new receivers may be an obstacle for some receivers, I think Allen will thrive with more weapons around him. The Chargers (in essence) are applying the Denver approach in having such a stacked receiving corps. Peyton Manning had Demaryius Thomas, Wes Welker, Julius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders. Philip Rivers has Jones, Johnson, Floyd and Allen to work with.

People may tell you less is more, and sometimes it is. But, then again, those people would be liars.

Next: Chargers 2015 Mock Draft

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