Keenan Allen named to list of top 10 wideouts heading into the 2022 season

We call a lot of players consistent in the NFL. It doesn’t matter what position they play. There are a number of guys who simply come to play ball, week-in and week-out, and head into another offseason following another year of success.

Keenan Allen is one of these players.

Over the past five seasons, Allen has finished with exactly six touchdown catches in four of them. If we’re talking consistently, it doesn’t get much more consistent than that. Oddly enough, that lone season where he broke six scores and tied a career high with eight touchdowns was also the only one where he failed to eclipse 1,000 receiving yards during that span. Either way, averaging roughly 102 catches, 1,200 yards, and six touchdowns over a five-year span after tearing your ACL is still quite crazy.

As one of the league’s best and most-trustworthy pass catchers, Allen was recently named as a top 10 wide receiver in the NFL entering the 2022 season by CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin.

“Allen’s been doing it the right way for so long that it’s almost surprising he only just turned 30,” says Benjamin. “A pure route-runner who could be any QB’s best friend, he’s logged at least 100 catches and 1,100 yards in four of his last five seasons, and he’s poised to remain Justin Herbert’s top safety valve in a potentially big year for the Chargers. If Mike Williams is L.A.’s big-play outlet, then Allen has been the team’s Mr. Reliable for a half-decade and counting, serving as one of the NFL’s steadiest high-volume targets.

On top of catching a career high 106 passes this past season, Allen saw his hands betray him far too often en route to recording a career high eight drops. It was a very unusual year for him and the entire Chargers offense as they led the NFL with 33 dropped passes in 2021, five more than the next closest team. Lastly, Allen only broke one tackle this past season. The precious year? Just two. Allen has never blown anyone away with his God-given physical capabilities but three missed tackles in two years is a tough look for a team that needs to learn how to create yards for themselves through the air that isn’t simply Justin Herbert airing it out down the field over and over again.

For those who don’t feel like clicking the link to the article, here is the top 10:

Allen’s running mate on the other side, Mike Williams, was listed as an honorable mention for this list alongside other talented pass catchers in D.K. Metcalf, CeeDee Lamb, Chris Godwin, and D.J. Moore.