LA Chargers: Breaking down the receivers ranked ahead of Keenan Allen

The debate about LA Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen is not going to stop.

A new NFL debate was spawned on Monday after LA Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen was ranked as the 77th-best player in the NFL on NFL Network’s Top 100 Players list. Last year, Allen was ranked 38th.

The rankings are voted on by current players, who do not seem to have a great grip on who the best players actually are in the league. Despite having a Pro Bowl season and over 1,000 receiving yards, Allen somehow fell on the list.

Even more insulting is the fact that Allen barely ranked ahead of second-year receiver, DK Metcalf. Nothing against Metcalf, who is a great young receiver, but one 900-yard season does not even put you close to the same level as Allen.

I already broke down the only three receivers in the NFL that I think you can definitively say are better than Allen. Here are the receivers that have been ranked ahead of Allen (so far) when the NFL Network revealed 70-41.

The receivers that ranked ahead of LA Chargers’ wideout Keenan Allen:

69. Larry Fitzgerald

Larry Fitzgerald is a legend, period. It is crazy that he is still even in the NFL and is putting up great numbers. In terms of all-time legacy, Fitzgerald blows Allen out of the water (at least right now). In terms of current talent, though, Allen is far better than Fitzgerald. It is not really even close.

Fitzgerald just is not the same guy that he was five years ago because of age. He is still a very good receiver and it is even crazier to think about how good he is for his age, but a combined 1,538 yards and 10 touchdowns the last two seasons is not enough to best Allen.

Allen, for the record, has 2,395 yards and 12 touchdowns the last two years.

65. Tyler Lockett

Tyler Lockett? I do not know a single person, Charger fan or not, that would consider Tyler Lockett a better wide receiver than Keenan Allen, let alone a top-70 player in the entire league. Sure, he is explosive and fun to watch, but the 65th-best player in the league? That is absurd.

Tyler Lockett had his first 1,000-yard season last season and still had fewer receiving yards than Allen. He had two more touchdowns but also had far more receptions. Over the last three seasons, Allen ranks in the top-four in both receptions and yards.

Lockett ranks 24th in receiving yards and 29th in receptions. Is he even a top-20 pass-catcher?

61. Jarvis Landry

Jarvis Landry is solid and definitely belonged on the Top 100 list and I do not hate where he was ranked, even if it is a bit high. He still should not be ahead of Allen, though. Over the last three seasons, Landry ranks eighth in receptions and ninth in total yards.

Landry should probably be in the 70s, which is where Allen is, while Allen should be in the top-50. At least he belongs on this list.

59. Odell Beckham Jr.

I am going to say it. Odell Beckham Jr. is the most over-hyped player in the National Football League. He is a great receiver, do not get me wrong, but the notion that he is this elite, cream of the crop receiver is just so unrealistic. I would probably say Odell is the 10th-13th best receiver in the league.

Over the last two seasons, Odell ranks 16th in receiving yards and 21st in receptions. Granted, he has to split time with Jarvis Landry, but I definitely do not think he is better than Keenan Allen at all and I don’t even think he is the best receiver on his team.

57. Davante Adams

Personally, I would put Davante Adams slightly below Keenan Allen on my wide receiver totem pole just because he missed four games last season and did not cross 1,000 yards because of it. I think this is a fair placement of where Adams is in the league.

But again, I think Allen should be ranked 50th-45th in the league, which is slightly higher than Adams.

54. Stefon Diggs

Remember what I said about Odell? Can it also apply to Stefon Diggs? Diggs is a solid wide receiver but I would put him on the same level as Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham. He deserves to be on this list, but he should have been the receiver in the late 70s, not Keenan Allen.

Stefon Diggs ranks 13th in receptions and 14th in total receiving yards combined the last two seasons and that is with having to split with Adam Theilen. Still, though, his production is not even close to that of Allen.

Overall, we have learned that Keenan Allen and the LA Chargers are often slept on and disrespected by the rest of the league. The only receiver on this list that I would not be outraged by if they were ranked ahead of Keenan is Davante Adams. The rest are just plain silly.