Contract Terms
The Los Angeles Chargers are trading wide receiver Keenan Allen to the Chicago Bears for a fourth-round draft pick, as FOX Sports insider Jay Glazer first reported.
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Fantasy Football Impact
As NFL.com's Grant Gordon reported, the Chicago Bears have made their first bona fide splash in the 2024 offseason. Allen, the Chargers' longest-tenured player, had arguably the best season of his career in 2023. He set a franchise record with 108 receptions and finished with 1,243 yards, the second-highest total of his career.
Trading for Allen gives the Bears another elite pass-catcher to pair with DJ Moore. With the expectation that Chicago will use the No. 1 pick in this year's draft on USC quarterback Caleb Williams, this move adds more firepower to aid in developing their new franchise passer -- or Justin Fields if they pass on Williams.
How much firepower?
Allen is second in franchise history, behind only Antonio Gates, with 904 receptions and 10,530 yards. They're the only two Chargers players to eclipse 900 catches and 10,000 yards. Allen's 59 touchdowns are third in franchise history.
And he's still going strong.
According to The Athletic's Kevin Fishbain, Allen's 2023 totals -- at the age of 31 -- would have ranked second all-time in Bears history in receptions and 8th in receiving yards. For a broader perspective, Fishbain notes that Allen has more than twice as many receiving yards in his career (10,530) than anyone in Bears history.
The former third-round pick out of California is known as a route technician and a sure-handed professional. Allen should fare well working opposite the field-stretching Moore.
That open question at quarterback will be a huge factor in our fantasy assessment of Allen, who opened as WR19 on our initial Footballguys 2024 Draft Rankings. That fantasy WR2 status will not change with Moore sitting at WR11. But it's worth remembering that Allen, who missed four games due to injury, was fantasy's WR2 through the first 13 games last season.
The Fantasy Football Fallout
Last month at the NFL Scouting Combine, Bears coach Matt Eberflus noted the priority of adding more pieces to Chicago's wide receiver room. Former Bears wide receiver Darnell Mooney signed a three-year contract with the Atlanta Falcons in free agency, leaving Moore, Velus Jones Jr, Tyler Scott, and Nsimba Webster as the only receivers on the Bears' roster.
"We don't have a lot of depth there, first of all," Eberflus said in February via ESPN.com's Courtney Cronin. "That's the first part. Adding some dynamic pieces there through free agency or through the draft potentially, so to me, when you're trying to defend that, when you have a weapon at tight end, and you have a weapon at the X receiver like DJ. When you add a piece or two to the other side, it really balances you out. It's hard to defend for sure."
Determining final values in Chicago with the open question at quarterback is difficult. The uncertainty is why Fields is QB33 on our current rankings.
It's also why, for now, we won't assign any risers or fallers in this passing attack.
That said, Late-Round Fantasy's JJ Zachariason believes the addition of Allen is a sign the Bears have learned a lesson about giving their quarterback, whoever it is, additional downfield firepower.
Justin Fields had Darnell Mooney and dusty Allen Robinson for his rookie year and the next rookie quarterback for Chicago is going to have DJ Moore and Keenan Allen. At least they learned their lesson.
— JJ Zachariason (@LateRoundQB) March 15, 2024
That's a different story for the Chargers. After letting Austin Ekeler move on (to the Commanders) as an unrestricted free agent, the club released wide receiver Mike Williams on Wednesday. Releasing Williams made them salary cap compliant, but they weren't done. In addition to releasing Williams and trading Allen, the Chargers restructured contracts for top pass rushers Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa.
That's a lot of off-field action. Back on the field, the Chargers spent their first-round pick last year on wide receiver Quentin Johnston, and currently sitting at the No. 5 spot in this year's first round, could spend that selection on another blue-chip receiver like Washington's Rome Odunze or LSU's Malik Nabers -- assuming Marvin Harrison Jr. goes to the Cardinals with the fourth pick overall.
Until they make any additions at the position, the team's lead returning receiver is Joshua Palmer, who managed 38 receptions for 581 yards and two touchdowns last season. Johnston contributed 38 receptions for 431 yards and two touchdowns as a rookie.
Palmer and Johnston will undoubtedly rise, but it's hard to spin this as a positive for Justin Herbert.
Concerns about the franchise QB's value began when new head coach Jim Harbaugh added Greg Roman as his offensive coordinator. Roman is known for his run-heavy schemes, and the addition of former Ravens power-back Gus Edwards lends further credence to the belief this offense will focus on the run.
All of which explain Herbert's QB12 spot in our rankings.
Stock Watch
Risers
Fallers
Overview
The Chicago Bears are acquiring Pro Bowl wide receiver Keenan Allen from the Chargers in exchange for a 2024 fourth-round pick. While we don't yet have clarity on who Chicago's quarterback will be, somebody will benefit from the presence of Allen and DJ Moore in this offense. We'll find out soon enough if that will be rookie Caleb Williams, who could be the team's choice with the first pick overall in April's NFL Draft, or Justin Fields.