2013 NFL Draft Prospect Profile: Keenan Allen, WR, California

Measurables

6'3"
210 lbs

Games Watched
Oregon 2011
USC 2011
Stanford 2011
Ohio State and USC 2012
USC, Texas and Washington

Positives

He's definitely good in space. Cal ran a lot of shorter routes for him and there were a lot of times he was asked to create on his own. Matched up against a CB he has the agility to put a move on him.

To add onto that point, his YAC ability is solid as well. He possesses good vision and finds open space. Physically strong enough to smash into a CB for an extra yard or two if there's no other options.

At 6'3" and 210 pounds he puts his frame to good use. With a lot of the shorter routes he's good at shielding corners and giving the QB an easy target to hit. As well there were a lot of tight catches with the corner draped on top of him. I love him in one-on-one situations in that scenario.

He had several leaping, mid-air catches that required him to rotate his body quickly. Everything he does seems so fluid. Running, leaping, turning, landing... it's almost graceful. You can see the raw natural ability. Sometimes he was able to get away with just a slight push in the back just because everything flowed so smoothly. It was hardly noticeable until you saw it in slow motion.

Negatives

There were a few bad drops that I saw. Occasionally you'd see him turn his head before making the catch and it cost him. This didn't happen frequently but it was certainly something that I had to note a few times.

The biggest concern is his speed. It's good but not great. He doesn't have that breakaway ability. He's fast enough that he might beat you deep initially but is tracked back down. Can he separate against NFL corners? I'm not sure. I guess the good thing for Allen is that his game is much more than just deep post routes but ideally you want those to be an option. I'm not sure he'll be a successful downfield threat in the NFL.

Conclusion

There is clearly a lot to like when you watch Keenan Allen. When you boil it down to the important points there's only one negative, but it is a huge one. I think he'd be best in an offense that plays to his strengths and gets him to run a lot of shorter timing routes. (I don't want to leave you with the wrong impression though - I wouldn't classify him as slow.)

I know others see it differently but I'll maintain WR is a very big need for this team. The best receiver we have is Kendall Wright. Nate Washington is on the back nine of his career and I have no trust in Kenny Britt whatsoever. I think there is a chance we'll look back on this era of Titans football and ask if we gave Locker enough solid receivers to be successful. We knew he was a project when we drafted him and he's going to need help to reach his potential. However...

I'm not really for drafting Keenan Allen with the 10th pick, but I'm also not against it. I doubt he is the best player available with the 10th pick and there is likely a player that fits an even bigger need too. With that in mind I'm not going to be screaming for his name at 10 and won't be devastated when we likely pass him up. If we did draft him though, I think it would indicate that the Titans organization is attempting to create an explosive offense and give Locker the best opportunity to flourish. I can't oppose that line of thinking and so if Allen dons a Titans uniform on draft day I'll be on board with it.