Keenan Allen

Fantasy Upside
It's hard to find negatives when it comes to Keenan Allen. The lone issue, health, has not really been a negative over the last two years, as Allen did not miss a game in either 2017 or 2018. He's been super-productive in those two seasons with 97 receptions in 2018 and 102 catches two years ago. As ESPN's Mike Clay reminded readers, back in 2017, Allen played 84% of the snaps, ran a route on 91% of the team's pass plays and handled a 28% target share. Excluding a Thursday night Week 15 game last season, in which he suffered an early hip injury, Allen was on the field for 85% of the Chargers' snaps and 91% of the pass plays and handled a 28% target share. According to CBSSports.com, he's caught 68% of his targets over his career and averaged better than 12 yards per catch each of the past two seasons. How about that for consistency?

Fantasy Downside
Concerns? With Mike Williams entering his third season after a breakout 2018 campaign and tight end Hunter Henry now healthy, Philip Rivers might spread the ball around a bit more in 2019.

2019 Bottom Line
While they might get some additional looks, Williams and Henry should also take a bit of pressure off Allen by making it more difficult for opposing defenses to shut him down. It might even lead to more touchdowns for the veteran, which hasn't been his strong suit. Whatever the case, Allen's consistent, week-to-week production (he scored double-digit fantasy points in all but one complete game) is sufficient to keep him in WR1 territory for fantasy owners.

Week 17 at Denver Broncos

The Chargers offense will be at full strength in Week 17 with a chance to go from wild-card playoff team to home field advantage and playing against a potential lame duck coach in Denver's Vance Joseph. This is an offense to trust in the final week of the regular season, with an implied team total of 24 after being installed in Vegas as 6-point favorites. The Broncos are ranked third in aFPA to RBs, which could funnel more passes to Chargers receivers, with Denver ranked just 15th in aFPA to WRs. Keenan Allen posted 9-89-1 earlier this year against Denver. He's back to being a WR1 in Week 17.

Week 14 at Kansas City Chiefs (Thursday)

In a huge divisional showdown on Thursday night, the Chargers and Chiefs have the second highest over/under on the Week 15 slate, with Los Angeles still with an above average 24.75 implied total despite being road underdogs. The Chiefs rank just 17th in aFPA to WRs. Keenan Allen leads all receivers with 66 targets over the past six weeks. With Melvin Gordon expected to be sidelined again, Allen's huge target volume should continue, as should his recent WR1 status.