The Los Angeles Chargers‘ passing attack has suffered some major losses. WR Mike Williams is out for the season, and WR Joshua Palmer is currently on the Injured Reserve (IR) list. However, would the loss of WR Keenan Allen make this fantasy football offense hard to trust moving forward? Let’s take a closer look.
Latest Injury Update on Keenan Allen
Fantasy football managers got a pretty big scare when Allen suffered a shoulder injury in the second half against the Detroit Lions on Sunday. According to a recent report from Bridget Condon, Chargers head coach, Brandon Staley says Allen is day-to-day with that shoulder injury.
This feels like encouraging news, given that Allen appears to have avoided any sort of serious injury. Unfortunately, Allen was not present at practice on Wednesday, being listed as a non-participant on the Chargers report.
Will Allen Play This Week?
Allen’s status for Week 11 feels very much up in the air currently. Staley told reporters that he was “hopeful” that Allen could suit up. The word hopeful is better than “doubtful” but he could have chosen more encouraging words when describing Allen’s injury.
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The general feeling right now is that Allen is 50-50 to play this week. The Chargers need to keep their foot to the gas and are already without Mike Williams. Therefore, if Allen can go, they will likely try to push him out there. The practice reports from the rest of the week will give us more information and a clearer picture.
What Does This Mean for Quentin Johnston and Jalen Guyton’s Fantasy Ranking?
For fantasy managers who decided to write off the aging veteran WR heading into 2023, they are likely kicking themselves when they keep seeing his name atop the WR fantasy leaderboard on a weekly basis.
Allen is currently the WR2 overall in PPR formats, with 73 receptions for 895 yards and six scores through the first nine games of the season. His average of 10 targets per game coming from QB Justin Herbert gives him one of the highest fantasy floors at the WR position.
Obviously, if Allen is unavailable and — in theory — vacates those 10 targets per game, a Chargers receiver should benefit greatly from a fantasy perspective. In my opinion, the player who would benefit the most would be the rookie Quentin Johnston, who finally scored his first touchdown of his career against the Lions. Not to mention, he has seen north of 80% of the offensive snaps in two consecutive weeks.
Jalen Guyton would also see an expanded role. He burst onto the scene in Week 10 with four receptions for 41 yards and a score in his first legitimate amount of work in the 2023 season.
If Allen is available against the Packers, he is still an unquestioned top-five play at the WR position in Week 11.
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