Why Keenan Allen will have a career year with the LA Chargers in 2020:
1. Tyrod Taylor being under center will help his numbers
No matter what you think of Tyrod Taylor being the quarterback of the LA Chargers in 2020, whether bad or good, one thing that is almost widely accepted as true is that the number of overall targets is going to go down for the Chargers’ pass-catchers.
The team is going from a gunslinging quarterback to a mobile quarterback that will escape the pocket and extend plays with his feet. As a result, the Chargers are likely going to implement a more run-heavy offense, as the team has consistently been in the bottom third of the league in rushing attempts per game.
However, Allen will actually benefit from this change at quarterback. First of all, Taylor is not going to be slinging the ball deep as often as Rivers was. So while that may hurt Mike Williams‘ production, it will open the underneath and mid-field stuff for Allen.
Second of all, Allen is the perfect receiver to become an outlet for Taylor. Allen is a master at creating separation as he is one of the best route-runners in the league. He is going to continue to create the separation that he always does and will quickly become Taylor’s reliable number one option that he turns to in the passing game.
While I do not think he will see a big uptick in targets as the overall number of targets is going down, it will be a small uptick that, mixed with the two other factors, will lead to a career year.