Keenan Allen is still on the market, and that alone has opened the door to one of the more intriguing fits of the offseason: New Orleans.
Allen and the Los Angeles Chargers had a strong run together across the last seven seasons, with the veteran wideout spending six of those years in Los Angeles and one in Chicago with the Bears. In his Chargers stretch, Allen delivered three seasons of more than 1,100 receiving yards and hit six or more touchdowns in four different years.
Even with all that history and mutual respect between Allen and the organization, he remains unsigned this offseason. The longer that lasts, the more it looks like his next snap could come somewhere other than Los Angeles.
Bleacher Report’s Moe Moton sees the Saints as a natural landing spot, especially with Kellen Moore now in New Orleans. Moore served as the Chargers’ offensive coordinator in 2023, when Allen was the centerpiece of a passing game that ranked 13th in the league. Allen caught a career-high 108 passes that season for 1,243 yards and seven touchdowns.
Moton also pointed to Allen’s fit with the Saints’ current quarterback situation and red-zone setup. As he put it: "In 2023, New Orleans Saints head coach Kellen Moore served as the Los Angeles Chargers' offensive coordinator. He fielded the 13th-ranked passing offense led by wideout Keenan Allen, who caught a career-high 108 passes for 1,243 yards and seven touchdowns.
Entering his age-34 season, Allen is a chain-moving receiver who can be a safety blanket for second-year quarterback Tyler Shough. Remember, the savvy veteran wideout led the Chicago Bears with seven touchdown receptions in quarterback Caleb Williams' 2024 rookie campaign.
Saints wideout Chris Olave registered nine touchdown receptions last season, scoring on big plays with four outside the red zone. Allen could be the primary target inside the 20-yard line when the ball is in Shough's hands.
New Orleans has an ascending offense with the addition of rookie first-rounder Jordyn Tyson, running back Travis Etienne Jr. and guard David Edwards. Allen can be the next acquisition in a revamped unit."
A deal for Allen would also send a message about how the Saints view rookie first-round pick Jordyn Tyson at receiver. It wouldn’t necessarily mean New Orleans lacks faith in Tyson, but adding Allen after using a top-10 selection at the position would certainly make the picture a little murkier.
If the Saints did bring Allen in, the pairing of Allen, Chris Olave and Tyson would give them a potentially dangerous group. The other question hanging over all of this: whether the Chargers might still decide they’re not ready to let Allen leave for another team.
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