Will Keenan Allen outperform his 2020 average draft position?

Could Keenan Allen find his way back into being WR1 status in 2020?

Keenan Allen is entering his eighth NFL season with the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers franchise. The 2013 NFL Rookie of the Year has overcome his early-career injury woes to become a perennial Pro Bowler for the Bolts the last three years. However, will he outperform his 2020 average draft position of 21 when it comes to wide receivers in fantasy football?

The Fantasy Footballers are split on how they feel about Allen being better than WR21 this season. Andy Holloway believes Allen will outperform his draft position, while Jason Moore doesn’t think he will and Mike Wright is very much on the fence with Allen. What will it take for Allen to approach league-wide WR1 status? Is he destined to be a low-end WR 2 this year?

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What this really comes down to is the rapport he’ll have with either of the quarterbacks who will start for the Chargers this year: The savvy veteran mobile quarterback Tyrod Taylor or the fresh face out of the University of Oregon in No. 6 overall pick Justin Herbert? Does it matter who ends up starting more games for the Bolts when it comes to Allen’s overall fantasy football upside?

Quarterback play will have a huge role in Keenan Allen’s fantasy viability.

Even though Philip Rivers was a shell of himself last year, he was still able to sling it, or heave it, for the Chargers. Allen has had three straight seasons of over 1,100 yards receiving, going over 1,000 receiving yards in four of his seven professional seasons out of Cal. However, Taylor isn’t a volume passer and we’re not sold on how accurate Hebert will be as a passer year one in the NFL.

While there is no denying how talented Allen is as a wide receiver, potential quarterbacking limitations are a reason he’s probably not going to surpass his ADP of 21 in 2020. If you had to pick a quarterback who gives him the best shot of doing that, it would have to be Taylor because he’s more of a known commodity in Anthony Lynn’s offense than Herbert is at this time.

Taylor may not throw for more than 3,000 yards in a 16-game season, but he’s not going to turn the football over. Herbert could be the next Matthew Stafford or Andy Dalton and have success as a young player or he could be the next Blake Bortles or Mitchell Trubisky and struggle with his accuracy during his first few years in the league. Allen needs quality quarterback play to thrive.