Keenan Allen has been one of the most consistently productive wide receivers in the NFL for essentially his entire career. He had a string of five consecutive seasons where he recorded between 97 to106 catches, 992 to 1,393 yards, and six to eight touchdown receptions. That streak was snapped last year due to injuries, but he still played at a 16-game pace of 106 receptions for 1,203 yards and six touchdowns.
In recent years, Allen’s role has mostly seen him operate out of the slot. But that won’t be the case anymore, according to the man himself. The Chargers this offseason moved on from former offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi, hiring former Dallas Cowboys coordinator Kellen Moore in his stead. And in the new offense, Allen gets to do more.
“With Lombardi, I was stuck at the slot the whole time,” Allen said, per USA Today. “I’m inside and outside now, we’re all kinda inside and outside now, playing everything.”
According to Pro Football Focus, the past two seasons under Lombardi saw Allen record the highest slot rates of his career to date.
| Season | Offensive Coordinator | Slot Snaps | Slot Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Ken Whisenhunt | 83 | 8.74% |
| 2014 | Frank Reich | 87 | 10.32% |
| 2015 | Frank Reich | 79 | 14.68% |
| 2016 | Ken Whisenhunt | 5 | 18.52% |
| 2017 | Ken Whisenhunt | 387 | 43.24% |
| 2018 | Ken Whisenhunt | 372 | 46.85% |
| 2019 | Ken Whisenhunt/Shane Steichen | 447 | 47.96% |
| 2020 | Shane Steichen | 453 | 51.83% |
| 2021 | Joe Lombardi | 553 | 56.89% |
| 2022 | Joe Lombardi | 303 | 58.83% |
As for whose role he will occupy in Moore’s offense, Allen compared it to Cowboys star CeeDee Lamb, who “moves around a lot, slot, inside and outside.”
For what it’s worth, Lamb was in the slot for 91.11% of his snaps during his rookie season in 2020, but that rate dipped to 35.95% in 2021 and then jumped back up to 52.76% in 2022. So, he certainly moved around a bit more than Allen did over the past couple of years. (And the Cowboys have said they kept him primarily in the slot as a rookie due to the abbreviated offseason program that resulted from COVID-19.)
Allen noted that the Chargers watch Dallas’ offense pretty much every day as they install their new system, which is supposed to open up the field and encourage Justin Herbert to push the ball deeper and be more aggressive. That may mean slightly fewer underneath targets for Allen and Austin Ekeler, but if those targets come with more room to run, they could be even more efficient than they’ve been over the past few years.
Go to Source
Author: Jared Dubin
August 9, 2023 | 9:50 am
